Venus and Mars
by MLP
Summary: The last two episodes of Season 3, as they should have been
1. Chapter 1

LUNCH, INTERRUPTED

Entering the food court, Piz walked into mayhem. He jumped back as food, tables, chairs and bodies tumbled across the floor at his feet. His bruised face throbbed in recognition when he saw that one of the combatants was Logan Echolls. He felt a moment of empathy for the poor bastard on the floor. Piz knew only too well the damage those fists could inflict.

Before he had a chance to wonder what had Logan back on the warpath, he caught sight of Veronica, watching the fight from the far side of the court.

The look on her face hit him in the guts as hard as one of Logan's fists.

What was it? Shock and horror were there but also..._excitement. _As he watched, she lifted her eyes from the kid on the floor to Logan and Piz saw pride and desire.

"Wherever you are," Logan's bloodied victim rasped, "you're dead!"

"Yeah, someday!" Logan agreed. Then he spun around and Piz saw that he was grinning. Piz froze as Logan met his eyes and came towards him. "Hey man, just who I was lookin' for!" Logan said, cheerfully. "I am truly sorry. About everything." Piz nodded dumbly and glanced at Veronica again.

He immediately wished he hadn't. She was watching Logan stroll out of the food court and the look on her face was one he finally realized he would never see directed at him.

All the pieces clicked together. He suddenly knew that the asshole on the floor was responsible for the camera in his room. Visions of kids jumping off roofs, guns being pulled on mobsters, rapists being beaten bloody in a holding cell and federal agents getting knocked on their asses filled his head as his heart dropped right through the floor.

_I can't compete with him._

He looked at Veronica, willing her to look at him with the adoration and lust he'd seen shining from her eyes when she looked at Logan.

She could barely meet his eyes at all.

_Fuck._

Slowly, feeling like a condemned prisoner, he walked over to her. "Hey."

"Hey." She said, looking as guilty as if she had been the one who just beat someone to a pulp in the food court.

"I take it the mystery of the video tape is solved." he said, gesturing lamely at the young man lurching off the floor, cursing at the friends who were offering their help.

"Solved and resolved." She gathered up her tray and bag and turned toward the exit. He followed her as she dumped her tray in the return bin and headed out into a deserted corridor.

"Veronica," he said as soon as they were alone.

"Piz?" she smiled brightly but he wasn't fooled.

"Please tell me he doesn't fuck as well as he fights." He said. Her gaze dropped to the floor and she blushed so brightly that he could almost hear her memory ring with _You should seriously consider going pro at that!_

"Great." He sighed. "So much for my self esteem. What are we doing here?"

"You mean lunch?" she tried, unsuccessfully, to meet his eye.

"I'm only about 80% idiot, you know."

"Oh come on! I had you pegged at 75%."

"I know that what I just witnessed was...extraordinary."

"Logan Echolls beating the tar out of someone is not extraordinary. He doesn't like Mondays."

"While I'm impressed with your Boomtown Rats reference, I'm serious. I don't know another guy on earth who would do that. _I _could not have done that."

"That is not a bad thing."

"I feel like shit."

She put up a hand to touch him but he blocked it with his arm. "I feel like shit!" he repeated.

"Because you're not a Neanderthal, ready to go all Mike Tyson on anyone who pisses you off?"

"NO. Veronica, I've...liked you form the day we met. I knew you had a boyfriend and I asked you out anyway. I blew off Parker and God knows how many other perfectly nice, hot girls because I hoped...Wallace warned me but I didn't listen."

_FLASHBACK_

_It's the first week of school last September adn VEroncia has just recovered Piz's stolen guitar. He and Wallace are walking back to their room._

_"So," Piz said, striving for nonchalance. "That guy. Veronica's boyfriend? Are...ah...they serious?"_

_Wallace stopped dead in his tracks and the look of consternation on his face indicated that he knew exactly what Piz was up too._

_"Man, don't even think about it!" Wallace said, sternly. "Don't you know who he is? That's Logan Echolls." Piz shrugged and Wallace rolled his eyes. "His Dad was Aaron Echolls?" he prompted._

_"That movie star who was acquitted last spring?" Piz was astonished._

_"he's worth a couple hundred million." Wallace nodded._

_"So...you're telling me Veronica's boyfriend is loaded? She doesn't seem like the type to much stock in that."_

_"She's not and she doesn't but don't be bird doggin' Veronica, man." Wallace warned._

_"All's fair in love and war, right?" _

_"I don't want to be anywhere near you if you decide to go to war with Logan," Wallace shook his head. "Too many bodies already."_

_"Didn't Arron Echolls commit suicide right after the trial?"  
_

_"That's the official story. He was found dead in his suite at the Neptune Grand the morning after we graduated. The same night a kid jumped off the hotel roof."_

_"So...what?"_

_"Logan Echolls lives in the Penthouse Suite of the Neptune Grand."_

_"Ah...what exactly are you trying to tell me?"_

_"Logan was a key witness in his Dad's trial; for the prosecution. The girl Aaron was accused of murdering was Logan's first girlfriend. The only reason Logan was never accused of capping his Dad was because he was on the roof of the hotel with Veronica and Cassidy Casablancas. Cassidy tried to hurt Veronica. Now, both Logan and Veronica say Cassidy jumped and I believe them but there are plenty of people in this town who think Logan threw him off the roof."_

_"They think he threw a kid off the hotel roof? Is he some kind of psycho?"_

_"A lot of people think so. I don't but I might be in the minority around here. Of course, the day I met him, he was bashing in the headlights on Veronica's car. then Weevil showed up and made him stop..."_

_"Wait. What's a Weevil?"_

_"Weevil was the head of the PCHers. That's a local motorcycle gang. Thugs. They robbed the place I worked at and taped me to a flag pole the first week of school. That's how I met Veronica: she cut me down."_

_"Wait. Logan was bashing in her car and Weevil made him stop?"_

_"Yeah. Veronica had made friends with Weevil by then."_

_"But why was Logan bashing in her headlights?"_

_"Man, I don't even remember." Then Wallace laughed, remembering Logan describe it as foreplay. "they were at each other's throats all the time the first year I knew 'em. Anyway, I thought that would be the end of Veronica's trouble with Logan. Most guys would want to steer clear of Weevil and his boys. Not Logan. That guy's not afraid of anything. It was weird, though. All year long, it was hard to tell if Logan and Weevil hated each other or not. I swear, Logan's the only reason Weevil wasn't expelled. He actually was expelled but they let him come back. I'm pretty sure that was because of Logan. Even now, I don't really know."_

_"What do you mean, 'even now'?"_

_"Logan spent most of senior year wearing an ankle monitor as the prime suspect in the murder of Weevil's best friend. Veronica helped clear him."_

_"What are they, some kind of modern day Bonnie and Clyde?"_

_"Hells no! They weren't even dating then. I thought they hated each other. This much I do know: Logan beat up a federal agent when he thought Veronica was in trouble and he took on the Irish mob for her, too. And Piz? Cassidy Casablancas was one of Logan's best friends."_

_"The kid who jumped?"_

_"Yeah. All that happened before they were even together."_

_"Jeez. I had no idea."_

_"You still have no idea. I only told you all that so you'd understand how serious I am; you try to get between them and what Logan will do to yu will be nothing compared to what Veronica will do. You think she's just some cute blond but I'm telling you; Veronica Mars is the most dangerous person I've ever met."_

_END FLASHBACK_

Piz looked at Veronica and felt like he was seeing the real her for the first time. He sighed.

"I never got what you saw in Logan and I was happy when you broke up. If I weren't such a dope...You sat in there and told me you knew the good stuff from the bad and you went right back to him! Shit, he apologized for this." Piz waved his hand in front of his bruised face. "But I would've done it to me if I weren't such a pussy! Jesus, Veronica, do you have any idea how often I've wished I had the balls to do what he did to Mercer and Moe? He's fearless!"

"You sound like you admire him." Veronica could not understand boys.

"Admire him" Piz blinked. "He's my fuckin' HERO! I was on that tape too! Guys like Gory get away with this shit because there aren't enough people who will stand up and shove it back down their throats." He pointed back toward the cafeteria. "That was _justice."_

"He's going to get himself killed." She wrapped her arms protectively around herself. "Gory's not just some jerk with a camera. He's Russian mob. I _told him-"_

"So he knew? Of course he knew." Piz sighed. "Veronica...I don't know what he did to make you dump him but I'm pretty damn sure _that guy _never hurt you deliberately."

"Oh...ah..." _what had it been? Oh, yeah _"He hooked up over break with the girl I hate most in the world."

"Weren't you broken up over break?"

"He _knows _how I feel about her. What she's responsible for. And now, it's like, all I can see is them, together, on a continuous loop."

Piz stared at her for a long moment, wondering what kind of a girl expected her ex boyfriend to only hook up with women she approved of. _Answer: the kind who isn't really an 'ex' at all._

"What do you suppose he sees on a continuous loop?" Piz asked, dryly. He was actually pleased to see her flinch at that. The truth is, he was kind of pissed at her for all of this. "The only one he doesn't hold responsible for that is you. You, on the other hand, broke his heart and seem hell bent on doing the same to me. That's a lot of pain and suffering for everyone except this girl you hate. I guess that makes him a better man than either of us."

"I'm not-" she started but Piz put up a hand to cut her off.

"Again, only 80% idiot. I saw the way you looked at him. It gave me second degree burns."

She dropped her eyes and studied the floor. He waited but she wouldn't meet his stare. "I can't let you use me to punish him, anymore."

"Are you breaking up with me?" she asked in a small voice.

"It seems like the reasonable thing to do when you realize your girl is in love with someone else." At that, her eyes finally met his.

"Oh, Piz. I'm so sorry."

"Hey, I'm just trying to end this with as much of my dignity intact as I can."

"You are such a good guy."

"I used to think so." he tried to smile.

WALLACE AND PIZ'S DORM ROOM

"I broke up with Veronica." Piz said, flopping onto his bed.

"You what?" Wallace was sure he hadn't heard that right.

"Yeah. You were right." Piz sighed. "I was totally in over my head there."

"What happened?"

"Logan found the guy who made the video and beat the holy shit out of him in the food court. I had the good luck to see Veronica's face while he did it."

"She dug it?" Wallace didn't sound surprised.

"She _soooo_ dug it." Piz laughed. "What else could I do?"

"You seem okay with it."

"I...I actually think I am. The truth is I'm not so broken up about discovering my girlfriend is still in love with her ex as I'm just...kind of...in awe of Logan."

"Okay, that's messed up."

"Seriously, the guy who made the video? Veronica says he's connected to the Russian mob. She warned Logan not to do anything and the next thing she knows, he's smeared the guy all over the floor. I saw it. It was _fucking awesome!"_

"Really?"

"Yeah! I've never actually seen anything like that before. I mean, when it was happening to me, I didn't get an objective look at it, you know?"

"So you couldn't really appreciate it?" Wallace asked.

"No! Where I come from, people don't just haul off and belt each other."

"That would be 'civilization'?"

"Amazing how thin the veneer is, isn't it?"

"When Logan's around, anyway." Wallace conceded, thinking of all the things he'd seen during the last few years and he couldn't resist asking "What was it like?"

Piz sat up and excitedly said "You know that video of the tsunami as it his the beach in Sri Lanka? It was just like that!"

_"Oh!" _ Wallace groaned. "Can't believe I missed it!"

"Yeah! I mean, I know it's not a good idea. But the guy totally deserved it. I think he threatened Logan but I wasn't really paying much attention to him. I was kind of blown away by the look on Veronica's face."

"Well, at least you'll never have to wonder 'what if?' right?"

"Are you kidding? I think I'll be eternally grateful to have survived."

"I gotta say, you're taking this a lot better than I thought you would."

"Yeah, well...I'd appreciate it if you pretend not to notice when I cry myself to sleep tonight."

JAVA THE HUT

Veronica walked out of the rain and into the Hut and smiled to see Leo already seated at a secluded table in the back. She had no idea why he'd called her but she hoped he had good news on her father's case.

"It's good to see you, Veronica." Leo grinned. "As always."

"Good to see you too, Leo." She sat. "What's up? Any news on the evidence against Dad?"

"Don't worry about that. They don't even have circumstantial evidence against Keith. It's the _lack_ of circumstantial evidence that has them pissed off. If it weren't for Jake Kane screaming bloody murder, this wouldn't have been an issue. Everyone knows about the bad blood between them and how it all shook out."

_Very few people know the depths fo the bad blood between them,_ Veronica thought. _I wish I weren't one of them._

"So what is this all about?" she asked. "It's not a date, is it?"

"Don't worry," he chuckled. "You and I are clearly destined to be no more than friends."

"Hey, do NOT underestimate the value of being my friend!" she said. He laughed at that but quickly got to the point.

"They've got me working on the evidence on the Dean's murder case. I'm transcribing the tapes of the conversations off the phones that Tim Foyle bugged. One of them is your phone, Veronica."

"I know."

"I feel pretty uncomfortable with it. I thought maybe it would be easier if I didn't feel like I was doing it behind your back."

"Really?" she tried to think back to what she may have been saying on the phone during the time that it was bugged. "You want permission to do your job? That's so cute! Don't worry, Leo; I'm an open book."

"Some of it is pretty personal." Leo looked relieved. "Especially that message from Logan. That one shoulda been set to music!"

"And...what message would that be?" She and Logan had rarely talked overtly dirty on the phone and certainly not during that period of time.

"The one he left after some big fight over a night in Aspen?"

"I..." Veronica left a low level of panic rising in her gut. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Jesus. You never heard it. The bug taped _everything, _Veronica. You deleted that one before you heard it but it's still on the wire."

"Why are you telling me this?" her voice was nearly inaudible.

"'Cause of who sent it." Leo grinned again. "I gotta tell you, Veronica, I've been a member of his fan club ever since I heard what he did to those two scumbags in holding for the campus rapes. My Italian heritage stood up and applauded! Next time I see him, I'm gonna have to shake his hand!" He reached out and placed his hand on top of hers. "You really should hear it. You're the cruelest girl I know but even I don't think you're _that_ heartless."

"Leo, can you get me a copy of those tapes?" she whispered urgently. "is there any way I can hear them?"

"Good to see you, Veronica!" he said loudly, picking up his napkin and dabbing his mouth with it as he stood. "Say 'hi' to your old man for me." then he dropped the nakin on the table and walked out. Only after he'd gone did she look down at the table and see the cd that had been hidden beneath his napkin. She slid it into her purse, paid the tab and left.

THE MARS APARTMENT

Veronica went straight home and loaded the cd into her computer. She fast forwarded through hours of chitchat before she found what she was interested in. Her stomach lurched when she remembered hearing it for the first time. She had been too angry and hurt to listen then.

"_Ah, Veronica's voice mail. So, where are you, Veronica? Out digging through someone's trash, maybe? Interrogating your friends? Beating out a confession? You know, if you dig deep enough, youll find everyone's a sinner. Judge not, Veronica, etc. etc..._

_Stay on message, Logan...kay._

_"Honestly? It's encouraging that someone still has such high expectations of me. Veronica, I would give anything if I could take back that night in Aspen. I'm sorry it causes you so much pain. I'm sorry it happened. And I really love YOU, Veronica."_

The message ended and she realized she had her hands over her mouth and her eyes were filled with tears. How long ago had he left it? Weeks. She'd never heard it. She'd never called him back. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried not to think of him, waiting and waiting for some kind of acknowledgement.

Now she understood why he had started dating Parker instead of waiting for her to cool down like she now realized she had expected him to do. He thought _she_ was done with _him_. Everything she had said and done had lead him to that conclusion.

Why had he even cared when that video of her had circulated on campus email?

_And I really love YOU, Veronica._

She grabbed a ceramic pencil holder and threw it as hard as she could, feeling no satisfaction whatsoever as it shattered against the far wall of her room.

NEPTUNE GRAND HOTEL

Veronica knocked on the door of his suite, not really sure what she wanted to say, just knowing that she needed to see him. Logan opened the door and stood aside for her to enter, as though he'd been expecting her, which of course, he had.

"Seventeen hours," he said, looking at his bare wrist. "I really wasn't expecting you until tomorrow."

"Expecting me?" she turned and looked at him as he closed the door.

"I knew you'd have notes on my performance but I figured twenty four hours, at least." He walked past her into the living room.

"You actually apologized to him."

"I actually feel remorse. Piz wasn't the rat in the woodpile. I'm really..." he paused thoughtfully "even more ashamed than usual."

"Good." She followed him cautiously, looking for but seeing no sign that he'd been drinking.

"I like to believe that the folks I destroy deserve it. Otherwise, I just come off as an asshole." He dropped confortably to the couch and smiled up at her. "Piz is okay...a little on the dull side. I'm sure you find him refreshing."

"He broke up with me last night." She ignored the dig.

"Are you okay?" For a moment, actual concern flickered in his eyes. Then it was gone.

"I'll live. Which is more than you may do."

"Did you come here to kill me? Why am I not surprised?"

"Gory is connected to the Russian mob, Logan. That was not an empty threat, he _will _come after you."

"That should be fun. Do you think the Ruskies will kill me any deader than the Fitzpatricks will? Or any PCHers who didn't get the memo about who killed Felix? I'm pretty sure a lot of those guys can't read. Then of course, there's you...You'd think I'd be paranoid, what with all the people who are out to get me, yet strangely, I'm not."

"This is not a joke, Logan!"

"It is to me." He stood up and began pacing. "I'm so far beyond giving a rat's ass about any of this! You know the only thing I care about...not that you give a shit. Why are you here?"

"I'm worried about you."

"Really. This is new."

They glared at each other for a long moment. She shook her head in confusion, trying to remember what she had come for.

"Logan-"

"Piss off, Veronica. I am done jumping through your hoops."

"I was wrong. I'm sorry."

"You were wrong _and _you're sorry?" He looked around the room in mock curiosity. "Did monkeys just fly out of my ass? Wrong and sorry about what, by the way? Or is this a general one-size-fits-all thing?"

"About...a lot of things but especially my ability to get past Madison."

"Ah, yes. About that. I know you hate her and I don't blame you; she's a bitch. But you know, waht happened at Shelley's party wasn't her fault. She didn't know the drink was spiked. She still has no idea. What happened to you is far more my fault than hers. I brought the stuff to the party." His pacing had put the couch between the two of them.

"Why are you defending her?"

"Why are you blaming her? I'm merely pointing out the truth, which you claim to hold so dear. I'm not suggesting you think any more highly of her, I'm just wondering why, since you found it within yourself to forgive me for my part in what happened to you that night, you can't forgive me for using her to try to get over you, based on her much smaller and in fact inadvertent role in the whole mess." He placed his hands on the back of the couch and leaned toward her. "If I thought she had known what was in that drink and what would happen to you, _what do you think I'd have done when I ran into her again?"_

Veronica shook her head as the vision of Gory, broken and bleeding on the floor, swam into her mind's eye, followed by Piz's bruised and battered face.

She tried to explain, saying "I've just had a hard time reconciling myself to the fact that you made love to h-"

"I never made love to her!" He threw his hands up in frustration. " I _fucked _her and if you don't know the difference, I have been wasting my time!"

"Well, how would you feel," she asked, defensively, "If the girl you loved had _fucked _the man you hated most in the world?"

"Are you really asking me that?" he asked, stunned. "I FORGAVE LILLY!"

Veronica gasped, realizing too late that Logan had already suffered far worse than anything her imagination tortured her with. Her legs turned to water and she sat down hard in the arm chair. I'ts no easy thing to be hit with the fact that you've been a self absorbed, myopic twit.

Logan resumed his pacing, chewing his thumbnail as well. "You know, Dick asked me about Beaver the other day." He blurted. "He wanted to know if I had tried to stop him from jumping. I didn't tell him 'no' and I couldn't tell him why."

"You tried." She whispered.

"I said 'don't'. You think that qualifies as 'above and beyond'? I couldn't tell Dick I didn't give a shit if his brother jumped. I couldn't tell him what Beaver had done to you." By now, Logan's pacing had put him in a corner on the far side of the room.

"I was there." She said. "If you hadn't given a shit, you would've let me shoot him."

"I did that for you. I didn't want to find out what killing him would do to you. So he jumped or he went to prison forever." Logan shrugged. "Either way, he couldn't hurt you again. Either way was fine by me."

"There was nothing you could have d-"

"BEAVER WAS MY FRIEND! He was my friend and I let him jump because of what he did to you! I never even thought about the kids on the bus, it was _what he did to you!"_

"I WISH YOU HAD THROWN HIM!" She jumped back to her feet in rage and frustration.

"Finally! A little honesty from Mars the Liar! I've felt guilty for a year now because I didn't do enough to stop him from jumping and it turns out you blame me for not throwing his ass myself! I guess I'm not enough my father's son. Good to know."

"Don't you call me a liar!"

"YOU LIE MAGNIFICENTLY!" He came back out of the corner to the couch. "It has been my honor and privilege to see you pull entire personalities and histories out of thin air. I laid next to you, naked in that bed, while you sat there in nothing but my shirt, telling your Dad that you were at home and I was leaving and _even I bought it!"_

"Would you have preferred I tell him _the truth?"_

_"_Nope. but as someone who undertands the necessity of the occasional white lie to spare those we love needless pain, you drew a pretty hard line for me when I didn't want to fill you in on the gruesome details of a hookup that not only happened while we were broken up but also proved to me that there actually is such a thing as bad sex. You know, it really should make you happy to know that Madison is such a lousy lay. You demanded your own brand of intimacy and when I gave it to you, you _eviscerated me._ That makes you not just a liar but a hypocrite. And a coward."

"A coward?"

"I asked you point blank, _twice, _if you loved me." His voice wavered and he paused for a moment to collect himself. "You weren't very convincing but I guess I figured if you were lying, you'd be more believable."

"I wasn't lying."

He shook his head. "It was easy to believe you because I...I don't know the difference. I don't know what it's like when someone loves you. Deceit, humiliation and betrayal are the family values I was raised with." He was pacing now, his rage snapping around him like an electric current, keeping the couch between them as a buffer. "I love you _because _you're tough and smart and snarky. the way you use sarcasm as a scalpel _turns me on. _I _love _what a nightmare you can be when you have to. I don't love you in spite of the worst aspects of your personality, you stupid bitch, I love you _because of them _but you're the worst girlfriend I've ever had and that's _really _saying something!"

"Well, you're the worst boyfriend I've ever had!"

"Big deal! You were with Duncan the Perfect, Leo the Cop and your sidekick's sidekick. Troy the Drug Dealer is the only one who can give me a run for my money and I can eat his lunch and wipe my mouth on his shirt!"

"You don't have to sound so proud of yourself."

"Proud of myself?" He shook his head in confusion. "When in fucking Hell have I_ ever _been proud of myself?"

"I'm proud of you." She said simply, disarming him so totally that he stopped his pacing, stared at her for a long moment, then stepped over the back of the couch and collapsed onto his back, covering his face with his hands and shaking his head.

"I'm proud of you." She repeated softly, sinking back down onto the edge of the chair seat. "I think you're wonderful and I don't know why I was so mean to you."

"I do." He said heavily. "You cut Wallace and Mac all the slack in the world and if they ever screw up, you shrug it off. You forgive your Dad when he disappoints you and he forgives you when you defy him because that's how it works."

Listening to him, Veronica thought of a girl who insisted her boyfriend was in trouble, who refused to consider the possibility that he had dumped her, because she trusted him, and of a pro-life, Evangalist father, counseling his daughter to forgive the friend who had killed her unborn baby, all because of love. Veronica was ashamed of herself.

"At first," Logan went on, "being with you was like being with Bat Girl. Then, it was like being with Bat Shit Crazy Girl. I knew I was losing you. So I let you go while I still could. But you had to come back. You had to _fucking _come back, just long enough to push the needle into the 'unbearable pain' zone. It didn't make any sense. Then, after...when you never even called me back, it hit me; you don't love me and you never did."

"No, no, no, no! That is _not_ true!"

"It's okay. You can't help it. I know you tried."

"Logan, I do love you." she insisted but he sat up, looked her in the eye and shook his head.

"I"ve seen the way you are with the people you love and you were never like that with me. I wanted to be the guy you trusted and you tracked my phone. I asked you to have a little faith in me and you demanded proof. I needed your help and you blackmailed me. I tried to protect you and you bit my head off. When I asked you to forgive me, you broomed me and never looked back.  
I'm sorry about Piz. Toss that on the huge pile of crap that I'm sorry for. But did you ever consider for _one minute _what it did to me to see that video? I committed a felony to prevent anyone from seeing Lilly's and a year later, everyone's watching you. Jesus!" He flopped back down. "I'm not even twenty yet!"

"O God." She whispered, "I'm so sorry. You're right. You're right! I know I have t lot to learn about what it takes to love someone. To love you." She drew a deep breath and tried to think of a way to explain herself. "I...I thought Duncan was perfect. I spent years telling myself he was everything I should want in the man I love. And then...there's you."

"I always figured you'd leave me for Duncan if you had the chance," he sighed as she shook her head, vigorously. "that, I could understand. But Radio Waif really hurt."

"I didn't leave you for Piz. I _never _cheated on you."

"No, you just spent a weekend hiding from me in his room and then that video shows up in everyone's inbox. You're the picture of feminine integrity."

"It was never like that! It had been weeks and you were already with Parker! She's a friend of mine. What was I supposed to do?"

"You know how to whistle, don't you?"

"I thought you wanted Parker! I had to convince myself I could get over you. And Piz was there." She laughed but it sounded more like a sob. "But I couldn't wait for my iternship with the FBI to begin just to get away from him! You're right! I am such a liar. I've spent this whole year lying to myself. I kept telling myself that you're just a spoiled 09er with nothing on his mind but the next party."

"Thanks." he said dryly. He got up off the couch and walked oer the to balcony door. "'To love and win is the best thing'," he quoted, resting his forehead on the glass. "'To love and lose is the next best thing'. Whatever douche bag said that clearly never met you."

"I know you're not self obsessed or shallow." She stood and walked over to him, stopping a few feet away. "I lie so much that I don't kow how to tell you the truth. I love you. I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry I let you think that you had disappointed me. I know you were only trying to protect me. I set impossible standards for you because you turned my entire world view and...and self image upside down; you're everything I'm not supposed to want but you're _all _I want and I couldn't handle that. I never meant to cut you off."

"Imagine if you had." he murmured.

"I never heard that voicemail you left me until this morning."

At this, he turned his head on the window and looked at her. The look in his eyes was so bleak it made her catch her breath.

"When I heard your voice," she said softly, "I couldn't even remember why I was mad at you. I hope you believe me because I love you so much it scares me to death."

"Damn, you're good."

"I need you to forgive me. Please? Please forgive me, Logan."

"I forgive you for everything you've ever done or ever will do. You will always be my favorite person." She moved toward him but he held up a hand to stop her. "But I don't want you back."

He spoke softly but his words hit her like a sledgehammer. She staggered backward as she felt the wind knocked right out of her.

"How many times am I supposed to let you do this to me?" he asked, his voice shaky. "Turns out, I'm not really strong enough for epic. For years, I've been afraid that I could turn out like my Dad. It _kills _me to think of you with anyone else. But if I let you come back, I'm afraid I'll turn out like my Mom."

She flinched as if his words were blows, the image of an empty convertible left on the Coronado Bridge filling her mind. There seemed to be a weight on her chest, making it difficult to breathe. She turned and stumbled out of the suite, biting the inside of her mouth, determined not to dissolve until she was alone.

She ran to the elevator. Once inside the car, she turned nad looked back down the hall but this time he hadn't followed her. One sob escaped her but hse fought the tears as the door closed. She had gone all of three floors when the doors opened and in stepped her favorite Neptune Grand employee; Jeff Rattner. He took one look at her face and rolled his eyes.

"Please. You two should have each other's names tattooed on you foreheads so that innocent bystanders don't get the impression that just because you're broken up, either of you is actually available." he snorted.

"Try to remember that I really could get away with murdering you." Veronica hissed so vehemently that he stepped away from her and didn't say another word as they rode to the lobby. She was actually grateful for the distraction, not to mention the sentiment of what he'd said.

Back in the suite, Logan had turned and slid down the window, sitting with his back to the glass, his knees drawn up and his head resting on his folded arms.

THE MARS APARTMENT

Keith got in late that night, tossed his keys onto the kitchen counter and turned for his bedroom. He was halfway across the living room when she spoke.

"Hey, Dad."

"Aagh!" he jumped, clutching his chest. "Veronica! What are you doing, sitting up in the dark like that? You want to give me a heart attack?"

"Not my intention. But lately my intentions have been the sort that pave the road to Hell."

"That doesn't sound good." Keith sat down on the couch. "What's wrong?"

"Everything." She shook her head. "Everything is wrong and it's all my fault." Her face crumpled as she struggled not to cry.

"You're the one responsible for the federal deficit and genocide in Darfur?"

She chuffed a laugh at that. "I'm sorry. I really thought I'd be done crying by now..." He waited patiently while she wiped her eyes and blew her nose. "A while back you told me that some mistakes couldn't be undone. I'm afraid I've made one of them."

"Is anyone hurt? Anyone in the hospital?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact; the hospital, jail, out of a job, misery...all because of me."

"Wallace?"

"Is fine. This has nothing to do with fake IDs, Dad. This all happened because I'm the world's worst girlfriend."

"Stosh?"

"No!" she shook her head in confusion. "Oh, wait, yeah. He dumped me today."

"Oh, Honey I'm sorry."

"No, that's not why I'm upset! I, uh...I'd actually forgotten about that." she sighed. He looked confused and she chewed her lower lip. "Dad, did you do a background check on Logan when I was dating him?"

"Yes." he said firmly, as though defying her to object. "Of course I did."

"What did you find?"

"That...he'd been arrested multiple times on charges ranging from petty vandalism to murder."

"Of which he was innocent."

"Yes." Keith nodded his head in concession and continued, "That his IQ and standardized test scores were very high, that up through this sophomore year his grades reflected that. That most of the trouble he got into happened after Lilly died."

"What else?"

"That before his family moved to Neptune, he'd been hospitalized a half dozen times for injuries ranging from a broken nose and repeatedly dislocated shoulders to a broken collar bone."

"What did you infer from that?"

"That he was either an extremely awkward child or a victim of abuse." Her eyes flew to his fac as Keith continued. "And surfing is hardly a sport for the awkward."

They stared at each other for a long moment and Veronica nodded. "I think Aaron beat him regularly." she said.

"I think that's why they left L.A. and came to Neptune." Keith opined. "I think the authorities were getting suspicious."

"No one here was suspicious. Duncan knew but he never said a word." Even Veronica was surprised by how bitter she sounded. "Lilly had to have known. She wasn't that blind! How could they have not said anything, Dad? He was their friend!"

"They were just kids, Veronica."

She nodded, happy for any excuse to exonerate her two friends. "I didn't know, Dad." Her voice was heavy with guilt. "I didn't find out until after Lynne died."

Keith didn't ask her how she found out, he just nodded and waited for her to continue.

"Well," she finally said, drawing a deep breath and dashing the tears from her eyes. "Did your background check tell you that he also has a rapier wit, a finely honed appreciation of the ridiculous, an arid sense of humor, an almost inhuman amount of charm, an innate sense of honor and..." she smiled to herself, " and the heart of a lion?"

"No." he smiled. "I only knew that you liked him."

"You would have known all those things if I had let you. Do you remember the night that Selma Rose disappeared? Logan and I had an argument. He was angry because I wouldn't let him fill you in on the details of my attack. You knew that I'd been dosed by the rapist, what you don't know is that a big chunk of my hair had been shaved off. Logan thought you should know. He also wanted me to back off that case. He was terrified for my safety...and I got mad at him for it. He even hired someone to keep an eye on me and when I found out, I bit his head off. _That's _the guy you told to stop yelling at your daughter."

"And he told me I should start!" Keith said, remembering. "Veronica, if I had known, believe me, there would've been yelling!"

"I know." She nodded. "Logan cares about a lot more than how high the surf is. That was so unfair adn the only reason you had that impression is because I wouldn't let you talk to each other about anything and it's all..." she steeled herself and looked her father in the eye. "It's all because I was afraid you'd figure out that I was sleeping with him."

"Oh, Honey." He said softly, "I figured that out from the way you looked at each other."

"Oh, Dad!" her face crumpled again. He patted her hand and she tried valiantly to regain her composure. "I don't '_like' _Logan Echolls. He's the biggest dumbass I've ever known and I love him with every fiber of my being! But he doesn't believe me anymore."

"Well, he _is_ a dumbass." Keith explained, unhelpfully. She laughed but shook her head.

"It's me. I've been such a _girl _and I may have ruined the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Veronica." Something in the tone of Keith's voice made her look up at him. "You have spent the last few years working your tail off to set things right when they've gone wrong. Don't give up just because it's for you. And if Logan is the best thing that's happened to you, where do you think you rate in his life?"

"Me? I'm just the latest person he loved who betrayed him. I hurt him, Dad. You have no idea how much. If you did, you'd be as ashamed of me as I am. You know, at least when Aaron hit him, he could see it coming."

"You didn't mean to-"

"But I did!" she interrupted him. "That's what makes this so bad! I meant to hurt him the way I thought he'd hurt me. I never stopped to consider how much he has already been through. I was selfish and stupid and now he doesn't think I _ever_ loved him. I don't know how to fix this. What can I do?"

"You're asking me because of my long track record of successful relationships?"

"I'm asking you because he's _just like you. _How is it that you can forgive me even after...I helped Duncan hide Meg's baby. You found out in court that I had Chlamydia. I've lied to you, hidden things from you and gone behind your back with things you expressly told me to leave alone. You get mad at me for awhile but eventually you just go back to being my Dad, same as ever. How do you do it?"

"I'm your Dad. I do get mad at you but the truth is I want to get back to just being your Dad as much as you want me to. In the end, that's more important than whatever made me angry in the first place. I'm your Dad."

She nodded, as if he had confirmed a theory.

"There's more." She decided to throw herself on the mercy of her Father's love and come clean. "It's my fault that you lost the election. It's my fault Jake Kane is out for your blood again. My fault Piz has two black eyes and cracked ribs and my fault that Logan has a Russian mobster swearing vengeance on him."

"Jeez, Honey. I'm beginning to wish you'd just take credit for the deficit and genocide."

For the next hour, Veroncia told Keith everything. It was painful and humiliating and she cringed to have to tell her father about her exploits. Twenty four hours ago, she would've been ready to swear that no power in the universe could make her tell him about the sex tape but it all seemed trivial compared to what was at stake and the help she needed from him.

"Dad, I'm so sorry. I didn't ever want you to know. You must be so disappointed in me."

"This is not my proudest moment as a parent. I could've helped, Veronica. I'm only disappointed that you didn't come to me."

"I wouldn't tell you before because I was afraid you'd never look at me the same way if you knew...what I've done. But now I know that you'll forgive me because you love me."

"Now you know? Why now?"

"Because Logan told me that's how it works."

"Logan?"

"Yeah. He said he loves me and he forgives me but he doesn't want me back because he doesn't believe I ever loved him."

"Well, if you're going to convince him otherwise, you've got your work cut out for you but if he loves you, he wants to be convinced."

"All is not lost?"

"Where there's life, there's hope."

"Thanks, Dad. What am I going to do?"

"For now? Get some sleep. Tomorrow's another day."

"Good advice, Scarlett."

"Be grateful I didn't say 'Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn'."

"Dad! Language!" Veronica smiled, thinking there was a chance she might actually get some sleep that night.

to be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

TLP Chapter 5

MENDING FENCES

Veronica didn't sleep very well but she rose with a renewed sense of purpose. Keith was at the breakfast counter reading the paper. He looked up when his daughter entered the kitchen and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Do things look any brighter by the light of day?" he asked.

"I've got a few ideas." She said, kissing the top of his head, then grabbing a bowl for herself and the box of cereal. "I think I know how to start cleaning up some of this mess." She couldn't believe how liberating it felt to have no secrets from her Dad. She picked up the phone book and riffled through it, then punched a number into her phone.

"Good morning!" she said when the other end picked up. "this is Ms. Whithers from the central office. I need to meet with Mr. Stone regarding a problem with his TIAA Cref account. I'm sure it's just a glitch but I felt we'd best get it straightened out as soon as possible. I thought Mr. Stone could meet with me during his lunch break today? Uh huh. The teacher's lounge? I really think privacy is the order of the day. I sthere somewhere off campus where we could meet, a coffee house in the neighborhood, say? Uh huh. Right on the corner of 4th and Oak? 12:30? That sounds perfect. Tell him not to worry, I'm sure we can begin the process of ironing out the problem adn I look forward to meeting with him. Buh-bye."

She hung up the phone and poured milk on her cereal. Then she looked up and saw Keith watching her, a question in his eyes.

"I didn't think he'd see me if I told him the truth but who's gonna blow off a meeting about a problem with his retirement account?" she explained.

"Who? What? Where? Why?"

"Shhh!" Veronica hushed him and looked over both her shoulders. "I think we have a journalism professor infestation again."

"Veronica."

"Come on Dad," she punched him on the arm. "What do you get the boy who has everything? I'm hoping; his brother. I'd better get a move on, though. I have another stop to make before I get to my lunch meeting."

A half an hour later, Veronica was being ushered into the office of Jake Kane.

Mr. Kane wasn't happy to see her but after she'd convinced Mr. Weidman of the urgency of her message, he convinced Jake to give the annoying blond an audience.

"What now, Veronica?" jake asked impatiently.

"Something happened at Hearst this week that I think you need to know about." She sat in front of his desk and wasted no time getting to the point. "gory Sorokin got in a fight with Logan Echolls. It ended with Gory threatening to kill Logan. I know Gory's one of your 'Castle' boys."

"What makes you think that could possibly be any concern of mine?"

"You and I both know that Gory is more than capable of carrying out that threat. I was hoping you could talk with him. Convince him that retaliation against Logan is not in his best interest."

"You say they got in a fight. What makes you think anything Gory said was more than heat-of-the-moment rhetoric?"

"They didn't exactly 'et in a fight'. It was more Logan beat the snot out of Gory in a cafeteria full of students. Gory's not going to shrug off public humiliation."

"You know Gory that well?"

"Well enough to take him seriously. He didn't hesitate to spread an illegally made and degrading video of me through campus emails and I had never even met him. Since then, I've run into him twice and he behaved...threateningly. He's a very scary guy."

"What makes you think I have any influence over him?"

"I know you do. You could make him listen."

"Well, I probably could but why should I want to get involved?"

"Because it's Logan. He was Lilly and Duncan's best friend and he needs your help I know how far you went to protect Duncan when you had to. Logan has never had anyone to protect him. you were the closest thing to a father figure he ever had."

"Logan destroyed the evidence that would have put his father behind bars forever."

"He did that to prevent yet another video of Lilly making its way onto the internet. Logan wasn't trying to protect Aaron, he was trying to protect all of you. And Aaron isn't walking around free today. I'm...I'm begging you; if you have any affection, if you _ever had a shred of affection _for Logan, get Gory to forget about him."

Jake looked hard at Veronica, a deep crease between his eyes.

"Do you really think Gory is that dangerous?" he finally asked.

"I do. I think Groy does not brook humiliation lightly and I believe he's used to getting away with things. I think he'll consider it a matter of pride to hurt Logan. Honor, even." She reached into her bag and drew out a square envelope holding a CD, which she laid on his desk. "You know I would _never _ask for your help unless it was absolutely necessary," she said. "But I'm really scared for Logan. I honestly believe Gory would like to hurt him terribly and I..." she paused and drew a deep breath. "I think Logan has been hurt enough. My only prayer is that you think so, too."

Jake picked up the CD and turned it over in his hands, looking thoughtful.

"I always liked Logan," he said softly. "He went a little crazy when Lilly died."

"We all did."

"You could have threatened us with exposure." he help up the CD. "You could have tried to force me to do what you want."

"I thought there was a more effective way."

"I'll talk to Gory." Jake said.

"Thank you!" Veronica felt weak with relief. "Thank you!" she stood to leave and had gotten almost to the door when Jake called her name. She turned back, her hand on the knob.

"How did you know that approach would work?" he asked. She gave him half a smile.

"You're a Dad. You love your kids." she answered, then left as quickly as she could.

THE NEPTUNE GRAND

Logan opened the door to his suite, rubbing his face. He stared bleary eyed at Mac as she pushed excitedly past him into the room.

"Why aren't you dressed?" she demanded. "I called first."

"I'm sorry, did I answer the door naked again?" Logan looked down at his pajama pants to make sure they were still on. "What's so important that you had to bother me at this ungodly hour?"

"It's 11:00 in the morning." Mac said, plopping herslef down on the couch and opening her laptop. "I'm surprised you're not in class."'

"I'm rich and famous. I don't need a degree." He dropped inot the arm chair, then looked sadly at the coffee machine, out of arm's reach. "I need coffee."

"I've got something you're gonna like!" Mac was practically giddy. "Show this to your econ professor and you'll get an A, unless he's the biggest douche bag on campus."

"Whaaaaaat." Logan groaned, then hoisted himself out of the chari and lunged onto the couch beside Mac. "What is this?"

"This is my tuition for next year." Mac said, turning the laptop so he could see the screen. "We launched Gradeyourass two weeks ago."

"We did?"

"Do you _ever_ listen to what I say? Never mind. Look!" she stabbed her finger at the screen. Logan looked and shrugged. It was just a lot of bars and numbers. Mac slapped him in the head.

"Hey!" he reared back in surprise.

"This is our traffic!" she explained. "Do you remember our projected numbers?"

"NO." he rubbed his head where she'd hit him.

"Okay," she hit a few keys and brought up a new page. "These are our projections from just before we launched. do you see the bottom line, here?" he looked and nodded. "Good. Now..." she brought back up the other page. "...these are the actual numbers from the first two weeks. See?"

"They're higher."

"They're _five times our projections!"_

_"_Is that a lot?"

"Yes. That's a lot. But better than the actual numbers is the trajectory. Our number of hits is going up exponentially every day. Look at these graphs! With this kind of traffic and the number of banners we have, we can charge advertisers more, _a lot more, _and they're lining up!" she went on for awhile but Logan tuned out her words and just allowed himself to be amused by Mac's excitement.

"...and that's just the first quarter!" she finished and grinned at him, clearly expecting him to say something.

"Are we rich?" he asked.

"No." she said. "Well, you're still rich. But I'm going to be rich a lot sooner than I thought when I asked for a 50% stake."

"Money for nothin'? My chicks are already free."

"What's in it for you," she said, shoving him, "if you get your ass in gear before the deadline for grades, is an A in econ."

"Thank God!" He threw his hands up in relief. "I _knew _there had to be more to this than filthy lucre!"

Mac laughed as Logan hoisted himself off the couch and headed toward his room. "Don't tell Dick," she called after him. "He'll want a bigger cut as our expert Ass!"

Logan popped his head back around the bedroom door and assured her, "I never tell the Ass dick." then he shut the door.

Mac frowned slightly. She had expected at least a modicum of excitement from her business partner. she looked back at the screen and grinned. To Logan, she figured this was like being told that he would now have even _more air _than he could ever breathe but for Mac, it felt like she had been drowning all her life adn was now breathing clear air for the first time.

"Hey!" she yelled toward the bedroom, "have you seen Veronica since yesterday?"

The door opened and his head popped out again. "No. Why? What have you heard?"

"Uh, nothing. It's just...her Dad lost another election."

Logan blinked, as though he didn't understand a word she'd just said.

"Oh." he finally came up with, then disappeared into his room again.

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO

Veronica sat in her car outside the coffee shop/cafe at the corner of 4th and Oak in Sa Juan Capistrano. it was a lovely, tree shaded street one block fro the Chamberlain Academy, where Mr. Charlie Stone taught tenth grade speech. Veronica watched the pedestrian traffic, waiting for a tall, dark haired man to show up to discuss his retirement account with her.

"Well, he's punctual." She mused as she spotted him striding nervously down the walk. The moment he went inside, she exited the car and followed him. Inside, she found him sitting at a table near the back of the cafe.

"Hi, Mr. Stone?" she smiled brightly as she approached him. He stood up and stuck out his hand.

"Ms. Withers?" he asked, taking in her appearance and look a bit confused.

"Sort of." Veronica shook his hand and they sat. "I set up this meeting but I'm not from the central office. My name is Veronica."

"Veronica?" He stared at her. "Have we met?"

"Wow. Impressive. We have met but only briefly and months ago. I knocked on your classroom door last November."

"What's going on? Who are you?"

"Well, the good news is that there's absolutely no problem with your retirement account. I just needed to make sure you would meet with me. Oh, no, don't worry: I'm not a stalker! Well, I guess I did sort of stalk you today but not for myself, I'm here as an unofficial and I guess, unsanctioned emissary. Do you mind if we get some food, Charlie? May I call you Charlie? I'm starving."

Having piqued his curiosity and calmed his nerves, she felt comfortable ordering lunch.

"So how long have you taught at the Academy?" she asked, digging into her Caesar salad.

"This is my fourth year. I really enjoy it."

"It looks like a pretty nice place. I mean, this is a beautiful neighborhood and all. Lot of very well to do families, huh?"

"Yes, but we also have stundent on scholarship. Not all our kids are privileged."

"And I can only imagine that plenty of the so called privileged kids have problems, don't they?" she looked innocently at him. "You know the kind I mean; the kid who has everything money can buy but..."

"But only what money can buy?" he nodded. "It happens more often than people think."

"Those are the kids who break your heart, aren't they?" She went on. "I went to school in Neptune, so I knew a few who fit that description. One in particular seemed like he had everything; money, fame, nice car, big house, big boat, glamorous family...Turns out only the money was real. The big house burned to the ground, he has a recurring nightmare about a red convertible, fame has made his life Hell and the glamour only covered up the sort of ugliness most of us can't even imagine. I've seen him betrayed by...almost everyone he ever trusted."

"That sounds horrible." Charlie said slowly.

"Yeah. There were plenty of times whenhe wore the mantle of spoiled, psychotic jackass as though it were custom made for him. But I've watched him gow into a...a 'reformable, good man'."

"Well, that's...that's inspiring but I don't think 'reformable' is a word."

"You're the expert!" she smiled. "Logan Echolls is my oldest friend."

At the sound of Logan's name, Charlie went very still and plaed his hands on the table.

"What do you want?" he asked, his voice flat and suspicious.

"Logan is sorry for what happened." Veronica said. "You both were caught in the machinations of a very determined and unethical reporter named Norman Phipps. Logan never intened to do any interviews and he wouldn't have dragged you into it if he hadn't made the mistake of thinking you were that reporter's inside man. Phipps tapped your phone, which I'm pretty sure was illegal, then used what he learned to impersonate you and worm his way into Logan's life. What that man did to him was unconscionable but Logan knows it was a mistake to blame you. What you went through must have been awful but the fact remains that you have a brother."

"Who are you and why are you here?" Charlie looked at her, his face that of a stern teacher. Veronica imagined that look must have come in handy every day at the Academy.

"I've known Logan since we were twelve. For most of that time, we've been friends. I'm here because I can't stand to see Logan alone anymore. Aaron Echolls was a monster but he had two sons and from what I've seen, they've grown into fine men, who would both benefit from being in each other's lives."

"My life was just fine before all this." He said, picking up his fork and stabbing at his past, which Veronica took as a sign that he would hear her out. "You have no idea what a circus it was after that Larry King interview aired."

"I think I have a pretty good idea, Charlie." She said dryly. "Your life was a circus for what, a week? Two? Until Angelina showed up somewhere looking pregnant again? Logan has been trying to escape the Big Top his whole life. I was there when his Dad-your Dad-was arrested for the murder of Lilly Kane, who by the way, had been Logan's girlfriend. I was there when Logan was arrested and falsely charged with the murder of a classmate of ours. I saw what Logan went through when his Mom...did you know that he wouldn't believe that she jumped? He was sure that she had faked her death to escape from Aaron. He was sure she wouldn't just abandon him to that man. I was with him when he found proof that she had.  
"He's your brother, Charlie. He needs you. He's nineteen years old and he is completely alone."

"He has a sister." Charlie sounded as petulant as Logan sometimes did.

"Trina still doesn't believe that Aaron abused Logan. She didn't even come home for his Mom's funeral and she took off the minute Aaron was acquitted to take part in some cable access D-List celebrity reality show. And she's adopted, which leaves you as his only blood relative. You're his next of kin and he's never laid eyes on you."

"He has you." Charlie looked her in the eye, no longer sounding petulant.

"Yeah." She nodded. "Believe me, I am nowhere near enough. Come on, Charlie. It's not like I'm asking you to adopt a toddler. I just think you should be part of your kid brother's life. and to tell you the truth, I'm kind of doing you a favor; he's a great guy!"

"I can tell; knife fights, bum fights and underage drunkeness. He seems like a peach."

"What, were you born a speech teacher?" Veronica cocked an eyebrow at him. "You never staged the occasional bum fight?" That got a reluctant chuckle out of him. "Logan definitely went through a few years there where I would have boted him most likely to wind up in San Quentin and to tell you the truth, I hated him. After the murder of Lilly Kane, he and I wound up in opposite camps. But Charlie, even when he hated me, when I got into a sticky situation, Logan was there to help me out." Veonica stared into her salad, unaware of how tender her voice had become. "Sometimes I wonder what he'd be like if he'd grown up in a normal family full of people who cared about each other instead of only themselves but I always hit a dead end because to tell you the truth, he's pretty perfect just the way his is. All the rough and damaged parts just make the restof him shine."

"You're in love with him." Charlie said, sitting back in his chair.

Veronica's eyes flew to Charlie's for just an instant and her mouth worked silently for a moment before she finally whispered "Yeah."

"Are you sure you're not blinded by the money and the fame?" Charlie asked softly, his tone taking the sting out of the question.

"Believe me," Veronica said ruefully, "If there's one thing I'm not, it's blind to Logan's faults. Part of the reason I'm here is because I've spent too much time concentrating on his faults. What I've perceived as faults."

"Such as?"

"He drinks too much, he fights too much, he flies to conclusions too quickly, he can be thoughtless. He's a man, not a puppy that I can put on a leash and pen up in my backyard. He worries about me even when I don't want him to. I...uh, I've gotten pretty used to being self reliant in the last few years and he threatened that and scared the crap out of me."

"Sounds like he loves you."

"Yeah, well, if you had been around a few months ago, that would've been helpful." She met his eyes again. "He needs you. I came here today with the hope that I could get you to just...get over that minor inconvenience he put you through and...and just call him. If nothing else, you can probably get dinner at a five star restaurant out of him."

"Well, see, that's part of the problem." Charlie admitted. "I don't want to come across as the poor, long lost relative, you know?"

"So don't ask him for money until the third date, what's the problem?" Veronica saw that when Charlie laughed, he looked a lot like Logan. "Really, that's...the last thing that would cross Logan's mind. He's so used to having money that he really never, ever thinks about it. You, on the other hand, are his brother; something he's never had and believe me, he wants. More than anything."

Charlie looked around the coffee shop for a moment, thinking. Then he looked at her and said "I have to admit, I've been curious."

"Have you?"

"Of course. I assumed he didn't know of my existence. I'm pretty sure that was part of the agreement my Mom had with Aaron. I never would have jeopardized her arrangement by contacting him but with all the shit in the news the last few years...I have to admit to a certain amount of fascination with the whole family. I can't even say that after Aaron died, the idea of maybe, someday, contacting Logan didn't cross my mind. But after that interview, he left, like _several _really nasty, threatening messages on my voice mail. I kind of wrote him off as a psycho."

"Yeah, that sounds like Logan. He's...eloquent on voice mail. He left those before we found out that you hadn't sicced Norman Phipps on him. You have no idea how badly that ass hurt him. he did try to apologize for that."

"Did he? After the first few messages, I just deleted his number when it came up."

"Oh, God. I've made that same mistake myself." Veronica made a mental note; _always apologize face to face._

"I suppose...it couldn't hurt to meet him." Charlie conceded.

"Not as long as you don't sneak up on him and surprise him, then he's liable to hit you in the face, which would hurt a lot." Veronica was relieved that Charlie just laughed at that.

"What do you suggest as a next step?" he asked.

"I'll give you his number," she pulled out her cell. "Just...call him. When you're ready. I'll give you my number, too."

Charlie programmed the numbers into his own phone.

"This has been both enlightening and entertaining," he said. "But my lunch break is over and I really have to get back to work. It's been delightful, Veronica. Thank you."

"Thank you, Charlie. I knew that any brother of Logan's had to be a good lunch date."

They shook hands and Charlie left. Veronica finished her drink, feeling like she'd had a very productive morning. She picked up their table and paid the tab before walking out into the bright sunshine and heading toward her car.

Suddenly a figure loomed in front of her. she put up a hand to block the glare of sunlight over the figure's shoulder. "Oh, excuse me!" she said, attempting to go around but he stepped in front of her again.

"Veronica Mars. Fancy meeting you here."

Her eyes adjusted and she looked up into the grinning face of Liam Fitzpatrick.

Before she could make a sound, he had clamped one hand over her mouth and the other around her waist and pulled her into the back of the van parked at the curb.

HEARST CAMPUS

Logan and Mac were on their way to the building where Logan's econ professor had his office. Logan had set up the meeting with Professor Corrigan to validate his business plan and salvage his semester after Mac had spent the last hour or so bringing Logan up to speed on what was happening with their lucrative web site. Mac was practically jogging to keep up with Logan's much longer strides.

"So it's all 'revenue streams', 'ad banners', 'linkage' and 'site traffic'?" He recited.

"Yep. And show him the site logistics." Mac handed him the laptop. "It's all in there in black and white for him to read with his own two eyes. You're a mogul."

"We're moguls." Logan corrected her. "If he believes what I tell him and his own lyin' eyes, I may actually pass this class." He put out a fist and Mac bumped it, then stood and watched as her unlikely business partner bounded up the steps to the stone building.

"I just fist bumped Logan Echolls." She said, shaking her head in wonder.

She headed over to the food court to grab some lunch. There, she saw Piz and Wallace at a table and joined them.

"Hey guys, has anyone seen Veronica?" she said brightly as she sat with her tray. Instead of the mindless rejoinder she expected, the two young men exchanged what could only be described as a guilty look.

"What's going on? I detect uncomfortable undercurrents." She said, looking at each of them and frowning.

"Wha-what makes you think we've seen Veronica?" Piz asked.

"Ah...you're best friend? And your girl friend? Her Dad lost an election yesterday and no one even knows how she's doing?"

"Oh." Piz said, looking stupidly at Wallace.

"Damn. Sheriff Mars lost again?" Wallace said. "This town is nuts."

"Yeah." Piz looked at Mac. "Totally nuts."

"What's up with you two?" Mac asked suspiciously. "You didn't even vote, did you?"

"I voted!" Wallace said indignantly. "I take my duty as a citizen very seriously, I'll have you know."

"I...I didn't." Piz admitted. "I kind of forgot all about it. Sorry."

"Jeez!" Mac said, pulling out her phone. "You are _not _going to score any bad boy points with Veronica by not supporting her Dad's bid for office! What is wrong with you?" She punched Veronica's number, glaring at the two of them while the phone rang. "Yeah, you should look guilty," she snarled as voice mail picked up. "Hey, Veronica. Mac here. Sorry about your Dad. _I _voted for him. Call me." she threw her phone into her purse.

"You gotta cut Piz some slack," Wallace told Mac.

"Hey!" Piz cut him off.

"Why?" Mac asked. "What? because he doesn't live here? Because he's only a student resident? If he cared, he still could've registered and voted. Living on campus qualifies you to vote."

"No, man..." Wallace started.

"I registered!" Piz defended himself. "I had every intention of voting! I take my citizen...ly duty very seriously too! I did a whole show on it last week!"

"Then what happened?" Mac demanded.

"Chill, Mac." Wallace intervened. "It's not like Piz was the deciding factor, here. V's Dad got _arrested _the morning of the election! It was all over the news and in the paper. Unless this town is as illiterate as it is crazy, no way was Keith Mars gonna win!"

"I know." She looked at both of them. "That's not really the point, though, is it?"

"How come you haven't seen Veronica? What have you been so busy with all morning?" Wallace asked, attempting to direct Mac's thoughts away from dangerous territory. PIz smiled at him, gratefully.

"I spent the morning with Logan." Mac dug into her salad and missed the look of horror htat passed between the two boys. "We had business to discuss."

"You...umm...you what?" Piz stammered.

"What business do you have with Logan?" Wallace asked. She looked up from her lunch in surprise.

"I helped him with a project. It's going very well."

"Did he say anything about Veronica?" Piz asked.

"No. He said he hasn't seen her, either."

"Did he say anything about...anything?" Piz finished, lamely. Wallace frowned at him and he shrugged. Mac put down her fork.

"What. In the Hell. Is going on with you guys?" she asked, slowly.

"Ahhhmm...nothing. What's going on with you?" Piz smiled innocently.

Wallace rolled his eyes in disgust and then said "Logan beat the shit out of Gory Sorokin on Monday," ignoring the look of Panic on Piz's face, he added "And Piz dumped Veronica." Piz smacked him on the arm and he shoved Piz back.

Mac stared at each of them in silent horror.

"Logan beat up Gory Sorokin?" she finally whispered.

"It's not a secret." Wallace said, relaxing. "Everyone on campus is talking about it. Didn't Logan mention it?"

Mac shook her head and didn't say a word.

"I saw it!" Piz said. "It was fucking amazing. And you know...then I...I dumped Veronica." Mac turned towards him, her mouth hanging open in amazement.

"Okay." was all she could think of saying.

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS OFFICES

Meanwhile, up in Professor Corrigan's office, Logan had been explaining the success of his business plan and arguing for the grad he believed he deserved.

"You have to admit, sir; sometimes the dumbest sounding ideas are the biggest successes. Look at the Pet Rock and Beanie Babies." Logan said. "the numbers will back me up."

"Do you mean to say that your asinine-pun intended-web site is actually generating revenue?" Corrigan asked, turning the laptop toward himself and perusing the numbers and graphs.

"Yep. In your defense sir, I'll admit it sounded like a joke but you now wht they say about laughing all the way to the bank. There's no accounting for what people do in the privacy of their own homes..." logan felt his phone vibrate and pulled it out of his pocket while he spoke. He looked at the text message and jumped up.

"Fuck!" he exclaimed, turned and ran out of the office.

Professor Corrigan barely noticed his student's abrupt departure. he was engrossed in the numbers on the screen in front of him.

"Fuck." He finally said.

Down in the quad, Logan was heading for his car and punching numbers into his phone.

"Where are you?" He barked the moment the other end picked up. "When did this happen? Fine. Saty on her. DO NOT LOSE HER. This is what I'm paying you for; blow it and I will _end you." _He ended the call and ran to his car.

On the corner of 4th and Oak in San Juan Capistrano, Jeff Ratner pocketed his phone and peeled away from the curb, determined to keep a white panel van in sight.

BALBOA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE

Keith Mars walked into the office, talking on his cell phone and frowning.

"I'll be here. Don't worry, I'll wait." he closed his phone and shook his head.

"Keith!" greeted the newly elected Vinnie VanLowe. "Good to see you! Did you come to congratulate me on my victory? You're a bigger man than I, my friend. Had I lost, I had every intention of teepeeing your house."

"Don't worry, Keith," said Cliff, from the chair in which he sat, reading a magazine. "I was going to follow him and make sure he didn't. My trunk is full of Charmin, in case you're not busy later."

Keith grinned at his friend.

"I put your stuff in a box," Vinnie hooked a thumb over his shoulder. "I know there's usually more transition time but seeing as this was a special election due to the untimely passing of Sheriff Lamb and you were only _acting _Sheriff, I didn't see the point in waiting around, so..."

"Thanks, Vinnie, I'll get it." Keith had just started toward his former office when Logan burst through the front door.

"I need to talk to you." He pointed at Keith and strode through the lobby and straight into the Sheriff's office.

"See how efficient this is?" Vinnie asked the room. "The criminals are turning themselves in without even waiting to be arrested first!" Then he followed,only to have Keith and Logan slam his office door in his face. Vinnie pulled back in surprise.

"Am I not the new Sheriff?" He asked the door. Before anyone could answer him, the door opened and Keith reached out and jerked him into the office, too.

"Liam Fitzpatrick has Veronica." Keith said. Vinnie immediately dropped the clown's facade.

"How do you know?" he asked.

"Wait." Logan said, pointing at Vinnie. "Who the hell are you?"

"Sheriff Vincent VanLowe, at your service." Vinnie said, then turned back to Keith. "How do you know?"

"YOU'RE the Sheriff?" Logan asked, looking at Keith, who raised his eyebrows impatiently. "OH my God." He spun around in frustration.

"Tell him, Logan." Keith said.

"I had someone watching her." Logan said. "I hired him during the campus rape scare." He looked at Keith. "I never pulled him off."

"Creepy." Vinnie winced.

"Where and when?" Keith asked Logan.

"She was up in San Juan Capistrano at some coffee house. I got a text about..." Logan checked his phone. "Twenty minutes ago. they're heading almost due East."

"Kretchner County." Keith said, thinking of the cabin where he had taken Cormack to meet Kendall. Vinnie nodded.

"The FitzP's have a safe house in the desert." he said.

"I activated the GPS chip in Veronica's phone awhile back," Logan told Keith. "I know you have a tracker. We can find her."

"You did that?" Keith asked. The boy nodded and Keith said "I put a tracker in the sole of her shoe."

"While I was working for Liam, I put trackers on all the vehicles the rowdy boys use." Vinnie said. The three of them looked at each other. "We will definitely find her."

"Call the Kretchner County Sheriff's office," Keith told Vinnie. "I'm going out there now. I know where the place is."

"We'll take my car." Logan said, following Keith out the door.

"You're not coming." Keith said, walking briskly toward the front door.

"Yes I am." Logan fell into step beside him. "No one drives my car but me."

They reached the parking lot out front and Keith turned to Logan but before he could say a word, Logan gestured to the cars. "Seriously, dude. Your piece of crap or the Range Rover. Are you nuts?"

"Fine." Keith marched toward Logan's car. He pulled out his gun and checked the magazine.

"I need a gun." Logan said.

"You can't have one." Keith said, unequivocally. "You can drive but no gun."

"Mr. Casablancas taught me how to use one."

"NO."

"What if I need one?" LOgan slid into the driver's seat.

"Then God help us all. Drive."

Neither of them saw Leo D'Amato enter the Sheriff's office but he saw them.

"What's going on?" He asked Sachs. "Why did Sheriff Mars just tear out of here with Logan Echolls?"

Sachs just shrugged so Leo went down the hall to Sheriff VanLowe's office. He walked through the door to hear Vinnie on the phone with the Kretchner County Sheriff's department.

"...that's right. A stone and clapboard one story. Run down, ugly. Probably two maybe three cars, we don't know how many. A white panel van, definitely. Some of my guys are already on their way. Keith Mars was out there last year...yes. Yes. I know I can leave it to you but I'm coming out. She's kind of a friend of mine. Yeah. G'bye." He hung up the phone and looked at Leo. "What?"

"What's going on?" Leo asked. "I just saw Keith Mars leaving here like a bat outta hell."

"You're Tomato, right?" Vinnie asked.

"Ah, it's D'Amato, yeah."

"Didn't you used to date Veronica?"

"A long time ago, but we're friends."

"Perfect. You're my posse." Vinnie checked his gun and they headed out the door.

IN THE RANGE ROVER

Keith and Logan had stopped at the Mars Office just long enough for Keith to grab his cell phone tracker. He knew where the cabin was but didn't want to run the risk that Liam might have another hide out or that he was taking her somewhere else. He jumped back in the car as Logan was hanging up the phone.

"They're still heading East." He told Keith, throwing the rig into gear. "I told my guy that we were on it and he could back off."

"Veronica told me you had hired a...a body guard." Keith said. "But I was under the impression that it didn't work out too well."

"The first guy was a goon." Logan answered. "He scared the crap out of her. So I found someone...invisible."

"But the rapists were caught months ago."

"The world is full of rapists, dude."

"I really hate being called 'dude'."

"Sorry, man. Sheriff Mars. Force of habit."

"I thought you and Veronica weren't..." Keith hesitated. Logan raised an eyebrow. "Well, you broke up a long time ago."

"Yeah, we did."

"You never pulled off your man? Isn't that a bit...territorial?"

"A tracker in her shoe?"

"I'm her Dad."

"Yeah, well I'm..." Logan shrugged. "Whatever."

They lapsed into a very uncomfortable silence. Eventually, Keith took pity on the kid.

"You can relax, Logan. I'm glad you hired a body guard. Veronica told me everything."

"Really. You sure about that?"

"You two, the attack, the video...everything."

"Great." Logan said. "And you think _that_ should relax me? When I _know_ you're carrying a gun?"

"It's okay. I know Veronica isn't a little girl anymore. She hasn't been for a while. I may not like it but that's life."

They drove on in silence for awhile before Logan spoke again.

"I'm glad she told you." He finally said. "Those were things you needed to know. No one should have tp gp through what Veronia did alone I didn't know about it until about a year after it happened but it-"

"What? A year? What are you talking about?"

"The rape. I mean, she told me it happened but she didn't know who did it until the night he died."

"Veronica was RAPED?" Keith thundered. "She told me her hair had been cut off, not that she'd been raped!"

Logan looked over at Keith in shock, then abruptly pulled the car off the road. In an instant, he was out of the car, bent double in the dirt. Keith wrenched open his door and stormed around the car.

"LOGAN," he said "YOU TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED."

Logan straightened up. "FUUUUUCK!" he screamed into the desert. He looked at Keith with wild eyes and shook his head. "I shouldn't be the one to tell you this! I thought she told you about Beaver!"

"Beaver?! What about Beaver?"

"Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!" Logan ran his hands through his hair. "_I shouldn't be the one to tell you this."_

With a supreme effort of will, Keith composed himself. He tamped down his rage, reminding himself that Logan wasn't responsible for what had apparently happened to his daughter years ago. He put his hands on the distraught young man's shoulders.

"Get in the car, Logan." He said quietly. "I'll drive. You'll talk."

Logan allowed himself to be directed into the passenger seat of his car. Keith climbed behind the wheel and got them back on the road to the Fitzpatrick's cabin. Keith gave Logan a few minutes to compose himself, then asked the boy to tell him what had happened to Veronica.

"We should have known something terrible happened to her." Logan said, his voice shaking. "She cut off her hair. She threw out all her dresses. She started wearing army boots. We should have known."

"Her best friend had just been murdered, I lost my job, we lost our home nad her Mom left us." Keith's voice was a little shaky, too. "_We thought we knew what was wrong."_

Logan nodded, running his hands through his hair. "It happened at a party. She was rufied and couldn't remember any details but she knew what had happened. she didn't know who did it until the night Beaver Casablancas jumped. It was him. That's how she got Chlamydia. Beaver got it-"

"From Woody. Oh, God." Keith's knuckles were white where he gripped the steering wheel. "I just assumed it was Duncan..."

"No. Duncan was only ever with Veroncia and Meg," Logan shook his head. "They were both famous for their virtue. She...she found out it was Beaver. She told me ont he roof that night. She wanted to shoot him. I stopped her. He jumped."

"She never told me." Keith said, as if he couldn't believe it. "She carried that around by herself for _three years?"_

"She told me. But I...there was nothing I could do." Logan's voice was nearly inaudible.

"I can't believe she never told me."

"She wanted you to think she was the same." Logan swallowed, hard. "She wanted to be strong."

"It's not her plae to protect me like that!" Keith slammed his hand on the steering wheel. "I'M SUPPOSED TO PROTECT HER!"

"I know."

IN THE WHITE VAN

Liam had thrown Veroncia onto the floor of the van and hit her, hard. She had reeled back, stunned and before she knew it, he had thrown her bag into the front seat.

"Keep an eye on that," He told the driver. "she carries a taser."

"You got it!" Veronica heard the disgustingly cheerful voice of Danny Boyd.

"What do you want with me?" Veronica asked, trying not to sound as frightened as she felt.

"What do I want with you?" Liam looked down at her as he pulled a length of duct tape off a roll. "What does a man usually want with a pretty young thing like you?" He wrapped the tape over her mouth as her eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, don't worry, sweetheart!" Liam laughed, gripping her face in one hand. ""Nothing's gonna happen to you right away. You're just a bargaining chip. No need for you to cry unless your old man doesn't come up with MY MONEY." She tried to struggle and he back handed her again.

"I don't want to break you in half like a twig," Liam hissed in her ear. "but I will if you gie me any trouble at all, Ver-Onny-Cah. we can do this the easy way...or we can do it the fun way. Your choice."

He wrapped her ankles with more tape then flipped her over and pulled her arms behind her back. After he'd finished taping her arms together from her wrists half way up her elbows, he yanked her into a sitting position, sat back and ogled her chest.

He shook his head. "Not much there but what's there is choice!" he leered. Suddenly, he reached forward and grabbed the front of her shirt and ripped it open, scattering buttons all over the van. He leaned in close to her and said "Just because I can!" Then he climbed into the front seat beside his cousin Danny.

"What have we got here? he said, picking up Veronica's bag. He pulle dout her billfold and made a big show of pulling out her money and stuffing it into his pocket. He looked back at her to make sure she could see what he was doing, then he threw her bag and everything in it out the window.

IN THE RANGE ROVER

Hours had passed and the sun was setting behind them. They had talked themselves out and the silence between them was no longer uncomfortable.

"How far behind them are we?" Logan asked. He was back behind the wheel of his beloved Rover. "Have they stopped yet?"

"They're still moving. We've definitely gained on them." Keith checked the signal from the chip in Veronica's shoe. they had seen that the signal from her phone had stopped moving hours ago but rather than waste time looking for it, they'd checked the signal from the ship in her shoe adn consulted Vinnie. When he assured them that the van was still heading East, they figured that Liam had tossed Veronica's phone. "We'll get there in about two hours." He poked at the radio but there was nothing but static. "A hundred thousand dollar car and no satellite radio?"

"I'm giving that to myself for my birthday next year. There's a CD wallet in the pocket." Logan nodded toward the back of Keith's seat. Ketih reached around and pulled the wallet out. He thumbed through it for a moment, then pulled one out.

"Live at Budokan!" he said, slipping it into the player. "Did Veronica give you this?"

"No, I've had that for years."

"Really? Well, she did say we were a lot alike." Keith was flipping through the CDs and didn't see the look of surprise on Logan's face. "In another hour, we'll be close. I'll call the Kretchner County Sheriff and we'll have plenty of backup." Theyknew that Vinnie and Leo were about a half hour behind them. "We'll get her back."

"They wouldn't do anything to her...on the way, would they?" Logan asked.

"I doubt it." Keith answered. "They don't know we're on to them. They think they have all the time in the world."

"How can you be so calm?"

"Panic won't help us, Logan." Keith said. Logan nodded, keeping his eyes on the road.

"I have a backup plan." he said, after a few more miles.

"What's that?" Keith asked.

"Kill 'em all."

"That's why you don't get a gun."

THE CABIN IN THE DESERT

Veronica's entire body ached from having her arms and legs taped and riding for over five hours on the floor of the van. Her shoulders screamed from having her arms secured behind her back. She had gone from being terrified to being madder than hell and back to terrified more times than she could count. Eventually, she went numb and managed to doze off.

Suddenly she was yanked upright, draggedout of the van and thrown over someone's shoulder. She couldn't see anything and it took a moment for her to realize that she wasn't blindfolded; it was night.

A very dark night.

She strained to look to her left nad right but the darkness was as complete as a black cloth over her face. The person carrying her lifted her off his shoulder and she caught a glimpse of starlight before she hit the floor with a thud that knocked the wind out of her.

"Be careful with that," she heard Liam Fitzpatrick say. "We're gonna need her later. Where's Kevin? I'm starving."

The lights went on and Veronica blinked. They were in a small cabin. She was in the corner of what would be the main room. they had dropped her on the floor not two feet away from a couch. She could hear the voices of at least...four men in the other room, which she assumed was a kitchen.

They were eating. She couldn't hear what they said but she heard them laughing.

She realized she was hungry. And she really had to pee.

Liam walked back into the room, wiping her mouth on his arm. He squatted next to her and ripped the tape off her mouth.

"Ver-Ahh-nica," he sang. "I'll bet you need a break, don't you? You hungry? Tell you what. You don't give me any trouble and I'll let you use the bathroom and have a bite. Try anything and I'll beat the shit out of you. Got it?"

She nodded, not trusting her voice.

"Good girl!" Liam pulled out a knife and sliced the tape off of her legs, then pushed her forward and cut her arms free. She whimpered at the excruciating pain in her shoulders as she brought her arms around front.

"Don't cry, Sweetheart," Liam crooned. "Save it for later." then he yanked her to her feet and pulled her over to the bathroom. "Danny!" he shouted toward the kitchen. "Do you have an extra shirt? Our guest seems to have ruined hers." then he pushed her through the door. "You can take a shower. I'll get you something to wear."

The door closed and for an instant, Veronica actually felt grateful to Liam Fitzpatrick.

She looked in the mirror adn was surprised to see that her shirt had been destroyed and she stood there in her bra. She went to the door and hit the lock, praying that it worked. It did. She looked around. The window was dirty glass block with a twelve inch vent in the middle of it. She sighed. No way out. She turned on the shower.

The rickety old cabin actually had better water pressure than her apartment. she started to laugh but under the spray it quickly turned to tears.

She got out of the shower as quickly as she could, towelled off and put her clothes back on. She wondered if she could get away with staying in the locked bathroom and she almost jumped out of her skin when Liam rattled the door.

"I got a shirt for you!" he barked."Get out here and eat something."

She opened the door and took the large hooded sweatshirt he was holding and slipped it over her head. It came down to her knees.

"That's my girl!" Liam threw an arm around her and hed her much too tight. "Jeez, don't you have a comb or something?"

"You threw my bag out the window." she reminded him. She was proud that her voice sounded stong and sure.

"Oh, yeah. I guess it's okay." h estarted to laugh. "You look like you've been thoroughly fucked!" Veronica cringed as he pulled her into the kitchen.

Danny was there, along with two men she'd never seen before. They were all definitely Fitzpatricks.

"What's the plan, Liam?" one of the strange men asked.

"Well," Liam shoved her into a chair and dropped a bowl of macaronit and cheese in front of her. "I was thinkin' we'd make a video of Miss Mars here and email it to her old man, suggesting he'd like to make an exchange. But I don't know," He reached out and caressed Veronica's face, causing her to flinch. "I'm thinkin' maybe not."

She looked Liam in the eye, letting him see the terror in her eyes. He laughed, but he didn't notice as she slipped her fork up her sleeve.

to be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

IN THE RANGE ROVER

Keith and Logan pulled off the road about a half mile from the cabin.

"The Kretchner Sheriff will be here shortly." Keith said. "Leo and Vinnie are right on our tail. From here, we walk. I think if we're careful, we can do a little recon and have a good idea of the lay of the land by the time our reinforcements get here."

Logan nodded and they got out of the car. "Man, it's dark."

"A fact we will use to our advantage," Keith told him. "You be careful. They don't have any idea we're here and we need to keep it that way. If you see anyone out here, hide. _Do not try anything."_

"Come on, Sheriff, I'm not as stupid as I look."

"Well, you couldn't be, could you?" Keith reached out and shoved the young man beside him and Logan grinned, fully appreciative of Keith's efforts to keep him calm.

Logan felt calm.

Spookily, eerily, _dangerously _calm.

It got easier to move through the darkness as their eyes adjusted. They crept up on hte cabin until they were within a hundred yards of it. Keith put out a hand and touched Logan's arm.

"Sound carries out here," Keith whispered. "We need to find out how many and where. Stay close."

They circled the yard and saw only two vehicles. they could see into the cabin through the windows and thanks to all the lights being on inside, they were able to get a good idea of what they were up against. Suddenly, Logan reached out and touched Keith's arm, then pointed.

There, through the window, was Veronica. She looked messed up but whole, sitting in a chair in the living room near two men. She didn't appear to be tied up.

The two men in the dark stared for a long moment, each experiencing his own anguish. Then Keith touched Logan and nodded back toward the road.

When they reached the Range Rover, they could see lights approaching.

"If that's not Vinnie, we're screwed." Keith said, drawing his gun. He holstered it when the car pulled up, dousing the lights. Vinnie and Leo climbed out.

"Well?" Vinnie asked. Keith filled him in on what he and Logan had seen. Leo walked over to Logan.

"Hey." he grinned, offering his hand. "Mr. Echolls. Long time no see."

"Have we met?" Logan shook his hand.

"Yeah, a couple of years ago I busted you pantless at a school dance. Turned you over to your sister."

"You're gonna have to be a lot more specific than that."

Leo chuckled. "I heard what you did to the campus rapists. That was _awesome."_

Logan looked surprised but just ehn Keith and Vinnie turned to the young men.

"There are only four of them and we have the advantage of surprise. The Kretchner County Sheriff will be here with two to four men in about twenty minutes. We'll surround the place but we're going to wait for the authorities. We can do this without anyone getting hurt." Keith looked at Logan. "You're staying here."

"How are you gonna make me do that?" Logan looked at him as if he were crazy.

"I'm serious, Logan. You have no training, you're not an officer of the law and you really have no business being here at all. ou stay here and trust us to bring Veronica out safely."

"There is _no way-" _Logan started.

"Don't fuck this up, kid." Vinnie cut him off and the three officers walked off into the darkness.

Logan leaned back against his car until he couldn't hear their footsteps anymore.

Then he straightened up adn headed toward the cabin himself. His intention was to watch from outside the perimeter and perhaps offer any kind of help, should it be needed. As much as it galled him, he understood their position and he felt fairly confident that they would recover Veronica but he also knew he'd go nuts waiting out in the desert alone.

He crept up to within a few dozen yards of the cabin. He could hear the murmur of the men's voices inside but he couldn't make out what they were saying. Sudden bursts of laughter informed him that they were drinking. He crept closer. Now he could see into the cabin. He could see Veronica. One of the men grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap on the couch. Logan stood rigid, watching the guy paw at her as she strained away from him. The guy with the hands got mad and slapped her, but before anything else could happen, Liam appeared and knocked him in the head. Veronica was thrown onto the floor while Liam slapped at his cousin.

Logan looked back toward the road. The sheriff shoud be there in a few minutes. He looked back into the cabin. Liam had picked Veronica up off the floor and was sitting beside her on the couch. How much could they do to her in a few minutes? Liam had a beer in one hand and with the other he reached out and stroked Veronica's hair. Logan looked again out intot he darkness, wondering if the sheriff had arrived and when this assault would begin. Back through the window, Liam had Veronica struggling in his arms. Logan made up his mind and started walking toward the cabin.

"Hey." A voice said in the darkness. Logan spun around and Danny Boyd hit him in the face.

Logan stumbled but before he hit the ground, Boyd was on him, twisting his arms behind him.

"Don't make me break these," Danny said conversationally, yanking Logan's arms painfully up behind him. "I think I'd better let Liam do it. Move." He shoved Logan and the two of them walked toward the cabin.

Inside, Veronica was saying "STOP!" too Liam. He had an arm around her and kept kissing her face and hair.

"Come on, Baby!" he laughed. "There's no reason we can't have some fun...we can get busy before we get down to business."

"If you want your money, I don't htink this is the best way to get it," she said, her stomach rolling. "this is a good way to make sure my Dad kills you." _Vomit would be good, _she thought. _Pus, lard, maggots..._

"Aw, you're right." Liam nuzzled her neck. "But you know...he might not get me my money...and he's probably gonna kill me anyway...so I may as well fuck his daughter's brains out...before I kill him."

Veronica was sliding the fork she'd hidden up her sleeve toward her hand when the door slammed open adn Logan walked through it. She gasped in surprise and the fork slithered out onto the couch.

"Looky what I found!" Danny said, shoving Logan hard enough to send him crashing to his knees. He tried to stand but Liam was already over him with a drawn gun pointed right at his head.

"Don't move." Liam growled. "Well, well, well." He crouched in front of Logan and looked him in the eye. "I know you." He looked up at Danny. "Make sure he's not armed." Liam stepped back, keeping the gun on Logan as Danny frisked him. Veronica quickly tucked the fork back up her sleeve.

"Look at that, Veronica," Liam said, waving the gun at Logan. "It's your boyfriend. Say good bye." he snapped his arm straight.

"NO!" Veronica screamed. "DON'T! I'll be nice! I...I"ll be _real nice, _Liam...just DON'T!"

Liam pulled the gun up and looked at her, appraisingly. "How nice?"

"NO!" Logan shouted, glaring at Veronica. "Is this about money? 'Cause I've GOT LOTS OF MONEY!"

Liam looked back at Logan, grinning widely. "Well isn't this interesting?"

"He ain't got no money." Danny said, frisking Logan again. "He ain't got nothin' but this. Pretty nice cell phone."

"Not _on me, you idiot." _Logan hissed.

Liam peered at Logan again. Then he straightened up, tucked the gun into his waistband and said "Jesus Christ, boys. We have hit the mother lode. This here is none other than Logan Echolls, heir to the murderer's fortune. How the hell did you find us, boy?"

As if in answer to his question, the lights suddenly went out in the cabin.

Logan launched himself off the floor and hit Liam as hard as he could. In the total darkness, he heard a grunt felt Liam go down. Suddenly, floodlights came on outside and Logan understood why it had taken so long for the assault to begin.

Simultaneously, the men in the cabin began shouting and ducking for cover. Freshly illuminated, Logan saw Liam pull out his gun and point it at him. Logan spun away and Liam fired a wild shot past his shoulder.

Immediately, answering shots came from outside, everyone in the cabin hit the floor and a voice on a bullhorn was screaming "Hold_ your fire! Hold fire!"_ It all faded into white noise and mayhem as Logan saw Liam grab Veronica around the waist and lunge through the kitchen door.

He tried to follow, hitting and punching Danny and the other two, none of whom were paying attention to anything but the police outside. Logan had almost made it to the kitchen when a loud report sounded, he heard a grunt and someone fell on him.

Shoving the body off of himself, Logan heard a crash in the kitchen and scrambled toward the door. Reaching it, he saw the table thrown over and a trap door open in the middle of the floor.

Veronica and Liam were gone.

Logan dove across the kitchen and slid head first down the cellar stairs.

* * *

Veronica felt like she had tumbled into an escalating nightmare. Her heart had nearly stopped when Logan had walked through that door. It had taken all her will power to not scream her lungs out when Liam pointed the gun at him. She had been as confused as anyone when the lights went out but when the floods lit up the room from outside and she had seen Liam pointing the gun at Logan again, she had kicked him with both legs as hard as she could.

She had rolled off the couch and onto the floor the moment Liam's gun discharged, knowing that the police outside would answer in kind. She had screamed for Logan to drop but had no idea if he could hear her above the noise.

Then Liam had grabbed her and thrown her toward the kitchen adn the next thing she knew, she was back in darkness, being half carried, half dragged down a tunnel as dark as Hell.

She tried kicking and squirming but went still when an iron hand closed around her throat.

"Make this easy, sweetheart." Liam hissed in her ear. "Looks like you're the only thing I'm gonna get outta this clusterfuck. Your boyfriend is dead. I shot him myself."

"Nononoonoo!" she tried to kick and scream but it was impossible with him choking her. They heard a crash and a thud behind them in the tunnel.

"Fuck." Liam muttered, then picked her up and ran deeper into the darkness. It seemed like Liam dragged her for a very long time but eventually they emerged from a trap door in the desert about a hundred yards behind the cabin. LIke any rat, Liam Fitzpatrick knew better than to have a hole with only one escape route. He dropped Veronica on the ground, pausing to catch his breath.

"You gotta let me go," Veronica gasped in desperation. "You'll never escape if you try to take me."

"I'll never escape if I _don't _take you." He growled.

Suddenly there was another shot from the cabin and the night erupted in gunfire. Liam swung around with an oath toward the sound. From their vantage point beyond the circle of light cast by the floodlights, they could see that the few men in the cabin were seriously outgunned by the Sheriff's department.

"God daaaaaaamn." Liam sword. "_That's my family!"_

Veronica took advantage of his momentary distraction and stabbed him in the neck with her fork.

With a scream, he back handed her. She flew through the air and hit the ground, hard, looking up in terror as he advanced on her, one hand clutching his bleeding neck. She put up her arms defensively when suddenly a figure rose up out of the ground and knocked Liam flying.

"Run." Logan said, grabbing her hand and yanking her to her feet. Together, they ran as hard as they could into the darkness of the desert.

* * *

In front of the cabin, Keith Mars was shouting "GOD DAMN IT, HOLD YOUR FIRE! MY DAUGHTER'S IN THERE!"

The Sheriff had arrived with two squads and floodlights. They had carefully set up a perimeter, planning to disorient the miscreants inside the cabin when Leo had spotted Danny coming out the front door. All activity had ceased while the law men had hidden silently in the darkness, waiting for Boyd to go back inside.

Keith had sworn under his breath when he saw Danny return, shoving Logan in front of him. After a hurriedly whispered confab, they decided to continue with the plan only now it was two hostages in need of rescue.

Everything had gone according to plan until someone in the cabin had discharged a gun and an overexcited deputy had returned fire.

Then it all went to Hell.

It had taken Keith and Vinnie all their efforts to get the others to put up their weapons. Using the bullhorn, Vinnie had demanded that everyone in the cabin come out with their hands over their heads. It was a long, tense minute before one man, Kevin, limped out the front door.

Deputies rushed him and cuffed him.

"They're shot." Kevin said. "They need a doctor."

Keith, Vinnie and Leo rushed inside. The cabin was so small it took only an instant to see that Veronica, Logan and Liam were missing.

"Sheriff!" Leo called from the kitchen. "In here!"

Vinnie and Keith ran to the kitchen and stared down the pit in dismay.

"DAMMIT." Keith said.

"Don't worry." Vinnie said soothingly. "We'll find them. They can't get very far." He looked at Leo. "Outside, Tomato."

The men regrouped out front. Several of the Kretchner squad cars had been pulled up into the yard. Kevin was in the back of one. A deputy was on the radio calling for an ambulance. One of the men inside the cabin was dead but Danny Boyd was still breathing. Vinnie and the other Sheriff talked for a moment. Then Vinnie approached Keith.

"We're going to search the perimeter." He said. "We need you to question the prisoner, find out...oh hell, everything."

"Yeah. Okay." Keith nodded and went off to wring Kevin dry.

* * *

Logan and Veronica ran as hard as they could away from Liam and the cabin. When Logan became aware of her labored breathing, he pulled Veronica down behind a tumble of large rocks. They lay on the ground, panting for a moment, then he looked at her and put a finger over his lips. She nodded. Carefully, he got up on his knees and looked over a boulder toward where they had left Liam. He heard nothing and could detect no movement.

They were only a few hundred yards from the cabin and the sheriff's department's floodlights. Somewhere in the darkness between them and safety was Liam, armed and angry.

Meanwhile, the Kretchner and Balboa county deputies were spreading out, looking for any sign of the missing Fitzpatrick and his hostages. No one was using flashlights, which would only serve as a target for Liam. It was agonizingly slow going.

Kevin seemed eager to tell Keith everything he knew, which wasn't much but he did know that the kitchen tunnel came out about a hundred yards south of the cabin. Keith got on the radio and told the deputies to concentrate the search there.

When Logan was sure that Liam was nowhere near them, he took Veronica's hand and pulled her to her feet. With a nod toward the cabin, they set off carefully in the dark. After a few minutes, he came to a halt and put up a hand for her to do the same. They both heard a moan. Someone was lying on the ground nearby. It was Leo. Crouching next to him, Veronica checked his head for blood.

"Dude, are you okay?" Logan whispered.

"Yeah, yeah." Leo groaned and tried to sit up. "I think I found Liam."

"Good job." Logan said grimly.

"You seem okay," Veronica whispered. "But you're going to have a bump. Don't try to get up yet."

"God, I'm glad to see you guys." Leo said. "I'll be fine. Just gie me a minute. Get back to the cabin; your Dad is going nuts." He looked at Logan. "Get her back there."

"I don't think we should leave you here." Logan said.

"Nah, I'm fine. He just...knocked me out and ran away. If Liam was going to kill me, he had the perfect chance. Get her out of here." Leo sat up and rubbed his head.

"Come on, Logan." Veronica tugged at his arm and he stood. He threw an arm around her and they trudged toward the cabin.

They were approaching the floodlights and Veronica kept glancing up at Logan's profile, unable to believe he was really there. He didn't look down at her but was continuously scanning the area, clearly on the lookout for Liam. Behind them, Leo got to his feet. That's when he noticed that his gun was gone. He looked around on the ground for a moment but gave up in the dark and limped after them.

They were still outside the circle of light but could clearly see Keith, standing beside a cruiser. On the ground in front of him was a body, covered in a sheet. From out of the darkness stepped Liam, not twenty feet from Keith.

"Dad!" Veronica gasped.

"AN EYE FOR AN EYE, MARS!" Liam shouted, raising his gun.

Veronica felt Logan jerk away from her, there was a loud report and Liam dropped like a stone. Then she was running, running into the light, past the body of Liam Fitzpatrick, lying in a spreading pool of blood and brains and into her father's arms.

Back in the darkness, Leo stopped dead in amazement. Silhouetted against the floodlights, there was really no doubt about what he had seen: Logan Echolls had dropped Liam Fitzpatrick with a single shot at over forty feet.

Leo trotted up to Logan who was still standing there in the dark, the smoking gun now pointed at the ground.

Gently, Leo took the gun from Logan's hand. Logan didn't even look at him.

"My gun." Leo said. "This will go better for everyone if_ I _fired that shot."

Logan nodded. Thinking the kid must be in shock, Leo put his arm around Logan's shoulders and they walked into the light together.

Veronica was still wrapped in her Dad's bear hug but suddently she pulled back and slapped him across the chest.

"How could you bring him out here?!" she demanded, "He could have been killed! Liam tried to shoot him _twice. _How could you do that?"

Keith just laughed and said "You've got it backwards, Honey, he brought _me" _Then, to her utter astonishment, he let go of her, walked over to Logan and wrapped _him _in a bear hug.

"I ordered you to stay in the car!" Keith said.

"And I ignored it and moved on." Logan said with a grin. "How did this not work out for you?"

"Well, I was _kinda surprised _when Boyd marched you through the front door!"

"That's called 'creating a diversion'. Things were getting ugly inside."

Keith held Logan by the shoulders, shook him once and nodded his head, proudly. "The heart of a lion, she said. THE HEART OF A LION!" He placed his open hand on the side of Logan's face and shoved him affectionately. Then Joy and relief were replaced by other emotions and he looked at the two teens. "Are you okay?"

Veronica nodded. Logan made a show of straightening his sleeves. "Sir," he said, affecting a Southern accent, "'I believe this is...the most fun I have ever had.'"

* * *

EMTs had examined Veronica and found nothing but minor scrapes and some bruises. Now she sat on the open gate of a pickup in the yard. There were deputies were examining Liam's body, one standing by with a sheet to cover it. Leo was deep in discussion with the two Sheriffs and an ambulance had come to cary off Danny Boyd but she only had eyes for Logan. He was giving his statement to a couple of deputies. He looked relaxed, happy and confident.

He hadn't looked her way, even once.

"What did the medics have to say?" Keith asked.

"I'm okay, Dad." she smiled at him. "He didn't hurt me. What's a little man handling between sworn enemies? I'm fine."

"You always say that. Even when it's not true. Especially when it's not true."

She looked sharply at him, a crease between her brows. "How did you find me so fast? Why is Logan here?"

"We took Logan's car. He doesn't like anyone else to drive it, so..."

She pulled back and peered suspiciously at him. "Like _that_ explanation will fly."

"Honey, he's here because he knew you were in trouble and he wouldn't let us leave him behind. He and I drove out together. We talked."

Her eyes flew to his and she could see the depth of compassion in his eyes. "Oh, Veronica," He said, his voice rough with emotion. "I'm so sorry. What happened to you should never happen to anyone." She nodded and leaned into him, burying her face in his chest. he wrapped his arms around her. "I can't believe you went through all that alone."

"I was never alone, Dad. I always had you."

"And you always will." He stroked her head and held her until Vinnie yelled and gestured for him. Keith sighed and looked at his daughter. "I've got to finish up here. Then we'll head into town and find a place to grab a few hours."

She gave him a nod and a smile. He walked over to be debriefed by the Sheriffs and her eyes instinctively sought out Logan again. He was talking to Leo now. They were across the yard and there was too much commotion going on to get a sene of what they were saying to each other but she saw Leo smile. Then he grabbed Logan's hand shook it, just like he'd told her he would. Her eyes filled with tears and her chest felt constricted and she honestly didn't know what she was feeling more: pride or loss.

She knew that if she started to cry, no one would wonder at it. She'd just been through a kidnapping ordeal, spent most of the day trussed up, been slapped around, shot at and dragged through the desert night but the idea of sitting alone and crying in the back of a pickup struck her as ridiculous. She was okay, Logan was okay, her Dad was here and Liam was dead. What was there to cry about, really?

As she watched, Logan nodded to Leo and the two young men separated. Logan began to walk across the floodlit yard in her direction. She wondered if he was even aware of her presence. Someone called out to him and he looked toward the cabin. A deputy tossed him something which he caught one handed, executing what almost looked like a dance step. The grace and ease of his movements made her catch her breath. She had always loved the way he moved.

She could see that the deputy had recovered the cell phone that Danny had relieved him of in the cabin, earlier. As she watched, he checked it, closed it and shoved it into his pocket without breaking his stride.

When he got within ten feet of her, he finally looked up and met her eyes.

And the look in his made her blood rush.

And then he smiled.

And he said "Hey, Bobcat."

And the next thing she knew, he had caught her up in his arms and was kissing her like both their lives depended on it and she wrapped her arms and legs around him and he lifted her off the tailgate, spinning around so that he was sitting there and she was on his lap and he kept on kissing her and she was kissing him and she didn't want him to ever stop and he never wanted to stop and she felt like she had finally come home after a thousand years in exile.

And then they laughed and kissed some more and she said "Oh, Logan!" and he knew just what she meant. Then she said "But what about...?" and he kissed her again and said "Come on, Veronica. You know how full of crap I am."

"God, I love you!" She felt like she was laughing even though it sounded like she was crying.

"Yeah, I think maybe you do." He kissed her again, oblivious to the stared of half the Kretchner County Sheriff's Department.

* * *

Logan sat in the bed of the pickup, leaning against the side, his legs stretched in front of him. Veronica sat in the vee of his legs, her head resting against his chest where she was perfectly content, listening to his heart beat. His arms were wrapped around her, keeping away the chill of the dessert night air.

"So this is what it feels like. Huh." Logan murmured.

"What feels like?" she asked, drowsily.

"Feeling proud of myself." He grinned. "I like it."

"I'm so proud of you I could cry." she said with a smile.

"Shh," He stroked her hair. "You're suffering from post traumatic stress. Go to sleep."

"Don't let me go." she took his hand and wrapped his arm around her again.

"Can't." he sighed. "Even when I try."

Keith found them that way later, when he had finished up with the Kretchner County Sheriff. The coroner's van had arrived and the bodies had been loaded up and the yard was being cleared of equipment. He walked across to where he'd left Veronica and stood in front of the pickup, looking at his little girl wrapped in the arms of the young man who had brought her back safely out of the desert and he suddenly knew, down to the soles of his feet, that she wasn't his anymore.

What shocked him was how okay with that he felt.

"Hey." he reached out and shook Logan's foot. "We can hit the road. It's only a little after midnight. If you can spell me after a couple of hours, we can be home by dawn."

"Cool." was all Logan said. He woke Veronica and one of the deputies gave them a lift back to the Range Rover. Keith got behind the wheel and Logan and Veronica both climbed into the back seat, where they quickly fell asleep, duplicating the position they'd taken in the pickup bed.

Hours later, in the pink light of pre-dawn, the Range Rover was pulled over to the side of the road. Keith held the cell phone tracker while Logan scoured the shoulder. After a few minutes, he found her bag and they got back into the rig and finished the drive home.

As they pulled up to the Mars' apartment complex, Keith yawned and said "I am BEAT."

"I'm hungry." Veronica chimed in from the back seat. "I slept like a baby. The back seat alone makes this gas guzzler worth the environmental destruction."

"Wait til you've driven it," Logan said from the driver's seat. "You'll be ready to burn down a few rain forests yourself."

"It's true." Keith admitted. "This thing drives like a dream."

"I'm so disappointed in you two." she shook her head. "Where's your sense of responsibility?"

"Screw the ozone," Logan muttered. "what's it done for me lately?"

"I hear my pillow calling," Keith said as he got out. "You two go ahead and get breakfast but I gotta get some sleep." He kissed Veronica as she came around and got in the shotgun seat in front. Then he nodded to Logan. "That was great work out there."

Logan watched the former Sheriff go inside the gate, then turned to Veronica. "You in the mood for some room service?"

"Only if the menu includes some endangered species."

* * *

IN THE PENTHOUSE OF THE NEPTUNE GRAND

The elevator doors had barely closed behind them when they were back in each other's arms. Logan backed Veronica into a corner and kissed her until she felt ready to explode.

"You know, there are surveillance cameras in these cars," she gasped when he let her up for air.

"Good." He said, going back for more, "I'll see if I can get us a copy. What the hell is this thing you're wearing?" He stepped back and looked at her.

"It's...uck." she grimaced as she looked at herself. "One of the Fitzpatricks gave it to me. Liam ruined my shirt."

"He's lucky he's dead." Logan growled, backing her into the corner again. The doors opened, he grabbed her hand and spun her down the hall, stopping to grab a kiss every few feet. She had forgotten that when he was happy, Logan was incapable of walking in a straight line. He swiped his key card and pushed open the door but before he let Veronica in, he looked up and down the corridor. Seeing no one, he slipped both hands under the hem of the enormous sweatshirt she had on, scooped it off over her head and threw it back toward the elevator. As she laughed, he picked her up, carried her into the suite and kicked the door shut behind them.

He set her on her feet in the living room and ran his hands from her waist up her ribcage, lifting her bare arms over her head, where he took her hands in his, all the while kissing her face, her neck, her shoulders. She giggled and squeaked and tried to kiss him back but he wouldn't let her.

"Let go," she breathed. "Let me touch you!"

"No." He ran his tongue from her right ear down to her shoulder. "You're mine; you do what I want."

"Oh, is that how it's...gonna be?" she moaned. He leaned back and looked her in the eye and despite the haze of lust between them, she could see that he was serious.

"Yes, Veronica. I tried letting you wear the pants in this relationship and you crapped in them."

She opened her mouth to protest but before she could form a syllable, he was kissing her again.

_Yeah,_ she thought, _things didn't go so well when I was in charge. But still..._

"Can...can we sometimes...do what I want?" she managed between the gasps he was wringing out of her.

"Always." he let go of one hand long enough to unclasp her bra. "Whatever and wherever." he kissed her collar bone. "You just remember this;"

"Mmmmmm?" was all she was capable of while he was doing what he was doing.

"There is no one else but you." he said, lifting her arm and kissing the inside of her elbow. "There never has been anyone else, there never will be anyone else."

"Never!" she moaned, infinitely relieved that he finally let go of her hands. She slid them under his shirt and together they ripped it over his head. He grabbed her ass and pulled her tight against himself.

"Do you trust me?" He whispered.

"Yesssss!"

"You say that now," He growled "but what happens when you go bat shit crazy again?"

"I won't." she promised.

"You will." He gently brushed the hair off her forehead and kissed her. "And I'm gonna need a safe word or something, to let you know."

"Unnngggh." was the best she could come up with as his mouth roamed down the side of her face.

"No. Too open to interpretation." he kissed her lips again. "I know! I'll bash in your headlights."

"Wha..?"

"It got your attention before." he wasn't sure if her answering giggle was because of what he was saying or what he was doing. "Do you want to know what I learned out there in the desert?"

"Uh hu...huh." she ran her hands up and down his chest.

"I learned that I am nothing like my mother." He kissed where her neck and right shoulder met. "And I am nothing like my father." He kissed her left shoulder. "And you're not as good at this as I am."

"What?" she wasn't absolutely sure she'd heard him right, as her knees had suddenly stopped working.

"But you're gonna learn." He scooped her up and headed for the bedroom.

And she surrendered.

* * *

THE BALBOA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE

Leo sat in Vinnie's office, trying not to sound as nervous as he felt.

"So, you're saying you got knocked on the head? You sure it was Liam Fitzpatrick?" Vinnie asked.

"I assume it was Liam," Leo answered. "It was pretty dark. I didn't see him. Who else was running around out there?"

"Good point. You sure it wasn't Echolls and Veronica who cold cocked you?"

"They're the ones who found me, so yeah, I'm pretty sure they didn't hit me."

"Ahhh...okay. Then what?"

"I told them to get back to the cabin. I told them Keith, Sheriff Mars-"

"Mr. Mars. He's not the Sheriff; I am. Oh, what the Hell," Vinnie laughed. "I call him Sheriff, too."

Leo raised an eyebrow and looked at Vinnie to ascertain whether or not he was done with his commentary. Vinnie nodded, affably.

"I told them Mr. Mars was real worried and to get back to the cabin." Leo continued. "I took a minute 'cause my head wasn't too clear. Then I followed Logan and Veronica back toward the cabin. We were still a little ways out when I saw Liam step into the yard and point a gun at Sher-at Keith Mars. I drew my weapon and fired."

"You took his head off at what? About fifty feet? With a knot on your skull?"

"We were closer to forty feet and I wasn't aiming for his head. I was aiming for the body mass, like we're trained to do. I didn't think I was gonna hit him at all; I hoped I'd at least scare him and warn Keith. It was just dumb luck that I hit him. I couldn't make that shot on purpose if I tried for a week. Not in broad daylight with a clear head."

"Some lucky shot!" Vinnie said appreciatively.

"You know what they say about being lucky or good."

"Well, Liam Fitzpatrick wasn't lucky but he sure as shit wasn't any good either, so I'd say it's an open and shut righteous shooting." Vinnie nodded. "This is gonna look killer on both our records. I'm putting your name up for a commendation, which I'm sure the Mayor will agree you've more than earned. You're a fuckin' hero, Tomato!"

"It's D'Amato. Ah, a hero, sir?"

"That's what I said. You are welcome to shoot all the Fitzpatricks you want on my watch. They add nothing but ugly to the gene pool."

"Thank you, sir. I'll keep that in mind."

"Great! Go on home, get some rest. We're gonna have a press conference around one this afternoon. I want you well rested and looking pretty for it."

"Yes sir." Leo stood and left VanLowe's office. He had taken responsibility for the shooting on site because he knew that it would look very bad for Logan and himself if it became known that the kid had relieved him of his weapon. He had only thought about saving themselves from the hassle of red tape and explanations. He hadn't considered the possibility that the killer of Liam Fitzpatrick would be hailed as a hero.

That didn't sit well with him at all. He pulled out his phone and dialed Keith.

THE NEPTUNE GRAND

Veronica would have been purring if she knew how.

She was stretched atop as much of Logan's naked bod as she could reach and she felt as if all her bones had melted. She loved the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed and the sound of his heartbeat slowly decelerating, in sync with her own.

"You're feelin' proud of yourself again, aren't you, boy?" she murmured, smiling. She felt him chuckle beneath her.

"I feel...so good." he sighed.

"Mmmm." she opened her eyes, lifted her head and looked at him. "How did you get so good at this, anyway?"

"Constant practice and the world's finest tutors."

"Not_ this,_" she grabbed him, eliciting an 'oof' from him. "All the other stuff. What you were talking about before."

"Oh. Yeah, I was talking about sex."

"No, you were talking about _relationships."_

"That crap? Not me."

"Seriously Logan, according to all the literature, you should be a complete basket base, not..." she groped for the word.

"Not what? The well rounded Renaissance man that I am?"

"Generous. Emotionally generous." She said. "You aren't afraid to go all out, to put your heart and soul on the line. You open yourself up completely. How did you learn to do that?"

"Process of elimination?" he guessed. "I know ten thousand variations of what not to do so I simply avoid all behaviors that look familiar. Or is 'familial' the word I want?"

"I wish I could do that for you. Open myself up, I mean."

"You did pretty well a few-"

"I'm trying to have a serious conversation, here!"

"I know; I can feel my nuts shriveling up."

"Fine." She sighed, laying her head back on his chest. "We don't have to talk about it."

"Veronica," He said softly, running a hand up and down her back. "You take it for granted because you grew up with it. I didn't. That's why I'm willing to go balls to the wall. It's worth everything because it's what I can't have."

"You _should _have it." It made her ache that he could say such things without a shred of self pity. "I want to give it to you."

His hand went still on her back and for a moment, she thought his breathing had stopped as well. Then he rolled her to the mattress so they were face to face.

"That means no keeping score and no getting even." He said. "If one of us screws up and hurts the other, we always get the benefit of the doubt; we apologize, forgive and move on. We never hurt each other back. We don't take advantage. Out there in the desert; what were you willing to do for Liam to keep him from shooting me?"

"Anything. Everything." She whispered, her eyes threatening to fill at the memory of that gun pointed at his head. He nodded.

"I would've given him everything I have or will ever have to keep him from touching you. I would've let him shoot me if it meant keeping you safe. I was 100% for you and you were 100% for me. That's how it's gotta be."

"That sounds simple enough."

"Yeah, well, it's gonna be harder for you than it was for me." She cocked her head and quirked an eyebrow in lieu of asking the question and he just shrugged and said "I didn't have anything else. So, I bashed in your headlights. Bet you didn't know it was a mating ritual, did you?"

"I had a feeling."

"I'm thinking of getting an old car just for venting. Maybe a LeBaron convertible."

"Noo. Been there, done that. How about a cheese-whiz yellow Xterra?"

"That was a sweet ride!"

"I actually do have some fond memories of that car."

"Big back seat." He mused.

"Tinted windows." She smiled.

"I would mind more PDA." He let his eyes slide down her body.

"Really? Isn't it enough that my nipples tighten every time I look at you? Would you like me to slobber all over you, like Backup?"

"That would totally rock."

"Please." She rolled her eyes. "Now _my_ nuts are shriveling up."

He grinned and rolled toward the phone. "I believe that means it's time for breakfast."

Fifteen minutes later, Veronica opened the suite's door, to find herself face to face with Mac.

"You're not my California Benedict!" she said as Mac started in surprise.

"Wow." Mac said flatly. "I've apparently discovered a worm hole to the past right here in the Neptune Grand."

"Ha ha. Nerd humor. So, so funny. What are you doing here?"

"Not the same thing you're doing here, rest assured."

"Oh, believe me, the assurance is very well rested. Seriously, what up, girl?"

"I...please don't do that." Mac walked into the suite. "I wanted to find out how my partner's grade pitch went. The last I saw of him, he was heading into some econ prof's office and then nothing; no update, no word, no thumbs up, down; total radio silence. Which is suddenly making sense...Where have you been all week? Didn't you get my message? I'm sorry about your Dad."

"What happened to my Dad?" Veronica felt a stab of panic.

"Uh...he lost the election?" Mac had to remind herself that love makes you stupid.

"Oh. Oh that, don't worry about that." Veronica laughed in relief. So much had happened since Tuesday that she had actually forgotten about the election. "I haven't had a chance to check my messages. Oh, Damn! I think my phone is somewhere out in the desert."

"Your phone's in my car." Logan said, coming out of the bedroom, toweling a freshly washed head. "Oh, hey Mac."

"No, Liam threw it out the window." Veronica said.

"Who's Liam?" Mac asked, bewildered.

"Nobody. He's dead." Veronica dismissed Liam with a wave of her hand.

"Your Dad and I retrieved it." Logan said. "Your bag's in the Range Rover." Delighted, Veronica threw her arms around him and kissed him.

"STOP." Mac commanded. Both of them looked at her, surprised. "I have absolutely no idea what's going on around here but clearly you and I must have a talk." she looked pointedly at Veronica. "And YOU," she turned to Logan, "What happened with your econ professor? Is the proof in the pudding or isn't it?"

"Shit." Logan said, thoughtfully. "I have no idea. I sorta had to leave that meeting in a hurry."

"What meeting?" Now it was Veronica's turn to be confused.

"I'll update you later, Sugarpuss," Logan said, walking toward the front door, upon which someone was knocking. "first, let's eat some breakfast. I've got a real hankering for endangered species and I never got any dinner last night, thanks to your little adventure."

"I really, really wish I didn't have to be somewhere right now, but I do." Mac said. _"You," _she pointed at Veronica, "will meet me in the quad at 11:00 and_ you,_" she pointed at Logan "will finish that meeting with your professor. I don't need to be working with _two _guys who are flunking out."

"You're pretty bossy for a Smurf." Logan said, removing the breakfast covers. "Don't worry; if all else fails, I'll offer to cut Corrigan in on Gradeyourass."

"You cut him in on your half, Echolls, not mine." On that note, Mac marched out of the suite before the grin she was trying desperately to suppress betrayed her.

* * *

Shortly after Veronica left, Logan's phone chirped and seeing Dick's name pop up, he answered "What do you want?"

"D-E-V-O-R-S-E!" Dick yelled.

"You want spelling lessons?"

"Dude, you told me you knew a divorce lawyer. I need his number pronto, that's Mexican for ASAP!"

"I told you I know_ a_ lawyer. I have no idea if he handles divorce cases or if he's any good. Although, he did call me 'stupid' several times, which leads me to believe he's not bad."

"Are you in the room?"

"Yeah."

"Then let me in!" this was accompanied by a loud pounding on the door. Logan hung up and opened the door. Dick sauntered in and looked around.

"Dude. Two breakfasts? Niiiiice." He looked around. "Is the honey still here?"

"You're still married. Calm down."

"Calm down? Boy got dumped all of a week ago and is back in the game already? Good to see you're not booking a trip to pathetic loserville like you did last time. Right back up in the saddle!" Dick swiveled his pelvis lewdly. "That's what I'm talkin' about! I gotta get divorced, man, like _today._"

"Why the rush?"

"Breakfast for two and you're asking me that?"

"I don't think you can get a divorce in a day."

"I got hinged quick, it seems like I oughta be able to get unhinged quick. Anyway, I gotta get back out there. Marriage is crampin' my style."

"_What?"_

"Yeah." Dick shook his head sadly and dropped to the couch. "Too much respect for the institution to get any play while I'm still tied to Melinda. Hey, I'm as shocked as anyone."

"You sure that's why you're not getting any play? Respect for marriage?"

"You know, it's supposed to be pooty-ville. Free sex, on tap, all the time. What a rip."

"Is that why you got married in the first place?" Logan hopped into the arm chair and Dick eyed him suspiciously.

"What's up with you, Dude?" he asked, frowning.

"What do you mean?" Logan smiled, innocently.

"You're dancing all over the place like...no. Never mind. It's too horrible to contemplate. Why'd I get married? I have no idea."

"You must have had some idea at the time. I don't' care what anyone says; even in Vegas, you have to actually_ try_ to get married."

"Yeah. It seemed like a good idea. I mean, she's smokin' hot and she seemed cool..."

Logan watched Dick, waiting.

"I miss Beav." Dick finally said. "I miss having someone to hang out with all the time. When I was with Melinda, I kinda forgot that I miss him. Getting married...seemed like maybe I could relax. And freaky toes or not, Melinda's like, the hottest chick I've ever banged. By far. Do you ever miss your Dad?"

"No."

"It's weird, isn't it? Here we are, two of the nicest guys you'd ever want to hang out with and both our closest relatives turn out to be psycho killers. Is it weird that I miss Beaver?"

"We didn't know what was wrong with Beaver till he died. I knew my Dad was a snake."

"_And _my Dad's a crook. I'm the only normal guy in my family and with any luck at all, I'll be divorced before my twenty first birthday. This sucks."

"So...why do it?"

"Are you kidding? Melinda thinks there's something wrong with me just because I said she had monster toes. Dude, her second toe is like finger. It's gross."

"Look at my toes." Logan wiggled the digits he had propped on the coffee table in front of Dick.

"Shit! Your second toe is long! Get that fixed!"

"Have you taken a good look at your own feet?" Logan laughed. "Maybe a long second toe isn't as unusual as you think."

In a panic, Dick ripped off one of his shoes and glared at his feet. "Fuck!" he looked up at Logan, stricken. "Dude! What am I gonna do?"

"What do you want to do?" Logan shrugged. "You still want to divorce the hottest chick you've ever banged over her feet?"

"I don't know! Now it seems kinda stupid."

"Someone once told me that giving up was stupid. You know, Kendall had a long second toe..."

"Uggghh! Did you have to remind me that my step mom was your booty buddy all through senior year?"

"You can't deny your step mom was hot, toes and all. Veronica's second toe isn't _longer_ but it's at least as long as her big toe..."

"_NO."_ Dick's voice dripped with horror.

"I'm just saying, what if it turns out all the hottest chicks have freaky toes and you dumped the hottest for nothing more than a lack of research?"

"_NO. DUDE." _Dick rose off the couch and pointed a horrified finger at Logan. "You said her name! You're dancing around the room! _Breakfast for two! NO."_

"What?" Logan laughed.

"_Veronica!" _Dick pointed to the breakfast dishes. "You're back with her! What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

"Nothing is wrong with me." Logan couldn't control the grin on his face.

"Oh sure, not yet. Your happiness stinks up the room but what about when she chews your heart out and leaves you bleeding on the floor again?"

"That's not going to happen."

"Why not? 'Cause seventh time's the charm? I'm telling you _right now, _I will not be here to lock you on the balcony and let in the maid service next time. What. The fuck. Is wrong with you?"

"Nothing. I have it on very good authority that I'm fantastic."

"Fuuuuuuuck." Dick dropped back onto the couch, a disgusted look on his face. "You're more married than I am. What you need is a mental divorce."

"I don't want one. I love her."

Dick stared at his friend, lounging easily in the arm chair, then at the remains of the breakfast dishes. He couldn't deny that Logan looked happier than Dick had seen him in months...maybe ever.

"Shit." He finally said. "I'm gonna have to cogitate over this."

"You're going to have to _what?"_

"It means 'think', college boy. Don't you ever go to class?"

to be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

KEITH MARS OFFICE

Leo, dressed in street clothes, sat across the desk from Keith. "You've known Vinnie for a while, haven't you, Keith?"

"Yeah, quite a while, actually." the former Sheriff nodded.

"I got the feeling he's not as dumb as he likes people to think."

"You've got good instincts, Leo. Vinnie VanLowe is not stupid. He plays the fool to lull people into giving away information they'd rather keep hidden. Unlike the late, unlamented Lamb, who desperately wanted to be thought of as smarter than he was, Vinnie works at portraying the image of an idiot. Don't be fooled; he's a fine investigator. He also happens to be as corrupt as the day is long."

"I'll be careful." Leo nodded. "The reason I called is there's going to be a press conference this afternoon. Vinnie wants to make me a hero. He says it'll look good on both our records."

"He's right. You did great work out there, Leo. You deserve some recognition for it."

"It was dumb luck, Keith. I feel like a fraud."

"Don't. If it wasn't for dumb luck, cops would't have any luck at all. You saved my life, Leo. And there's no telling who else might have died. Liam had more than one bullet in that gun. Chances are good that after he took me out, Logan would've been next. Veronica told me that the shot that started the it all was aimed at him. And...well, Veronica was right there, too. Take the commendation and thank God for dumb luck."

"Yeah. That's pretty much what Vinnie said. Say, do you think you could get a hold of the Echolls kid for me? I'd kinda like to talk to him before I have to go in front of the cameras. Maybe he could give me some pointers."

"Yeah. Sure. I'll ask him to meet us here before the press conference."

THE QUAD ON CAMPUS

Mac was seated on a bench with Wallace perched on the back of it while Piz sat on the ground, leaning against it, all of them mesmerized by Veronica, who faced them from the other end of the bench, describing the events of the last twenty four hours.

"...and then he grabbed my hand and said 'run'."

"Holy shit." Wallace breathed. Mac's mouth flopped open and shut like a fish but no sound came out.

"That is so cool." Piz said. "That's _awesome."_

"We ran and then we hid behind some rocks. There wasn't any more shooting, at least. When we were sure we weren't being followed, we made for the cabin where the cops were. That's when we found Leo, one of the deputes, knocked out on the ground."

"Damn." Wallace said.

"Yeah. He'd run into Liam. Logan didn't want to leave him but he told us that Dad was at the cabin and to get back there. Thank God he was right behind us because...oh, God. We were almost to the yard when we saw Liam step out of the dark and point a gun right at my Dad. And Leo shot him."

"That must have been terrible!" Mac finally said.

"Seeing Liam Fitzpatrick's brains in the dirt was not the worst part of my day." Veronica grimaced. "He _shot at Logan. _He tried to kill my Dad. He dragged me underground."

"Yeah, I can't believe Logan followed you down that hole." Wallace shuddered. "Even if I hadn't known Liam was armed, no way could I go underground like that. And _at night?"_

"Balls of adamantium!" Piz declared. The other three stared at him, confused. "It's what Wolverine's skeleton is made of. Makes him invincible."

Veronica dropped her face in her hands and Mac burst out laughing.

"Wolverine's skeleton isn't_ made_ of adamantium." Wallace pointed out. "It's coated in it."

"Does that change my point, at all?" Piz asked.

"No," Wallace admitted. "I gotta go with you on that."

"I..I can't believe you're comparing Logan's balls to a comic book character." Veronica said, trying to suppress her own laughter. "Thank you so much, Piz."

"Hey, I'm just calling it like I see it." Piz said. "You gotta admit that's the most bad ass thing you've ever heard! He's like the Scarlet Pimpernel: playboy millionaire by day, fearless crime fighter by night!"

"Okay, now you're going too far." Wallace winced.

"_I'm _going too far? First he stages a cage match with Mercer and Moe then he mops up the food court with Gory, who _he knew", _his voice dropped to a whisper "_was Russian mob, _then he takes on an armed killer and follows him literally into the depths of Hell. How is that not just like a super hero?"

"Stop." Wallace begged.

"This makes me feel so much better about things!" Piz went on. "I mean, _of course _I can't compete with him! It's like trying to compete with Bruce Wayne! He actually IS the guy his Dad played in the movies!"

"Oh, do _not ever _say that to him!" Mac warned.

"And I thought meeting Desmond Fellows was cool..." Piz shook his head. "This is just..._bitchin'!"_

"Okay, now you're embarrassing yourself." Wallace shook his head, sadly. "You're embarrassing me."

"What's embarrassing about admiring heroism? It's not like it happens every day, you know." Piz insisted. "We should encourage that type of thing."

"Veronica was heroic, too!" Mac piped up. "She offered herself to Liam to keep him from shooting Logan."

"Yeah," Piz weighed the evidence. "Sexual favors on the one hand versus diving down a hole after an armed killer. You're bad ass, Veronica but you're not in Logan's league."

"And I was afraid seeing you after you dumped me would be awkward." Veronica looked up, her eyes streaming, just as Logan hopped the back of the bench and settled lightly beside her.

"What's awkward?" he asked. "I love awkward." Dick sauntered up behind the bench.

"Veronica was just telling us about the Great Desert Rescue!" Piz said to Logan. "Totally awesome, Dude! How did you not shit yourself when that Fitzpatrick guy pointed a gun at your head?"

"Who says I didn't?" Logan slid an arm around Veronica, who leaned into him. Piz laughed way too hard and Dick frowned at him.

"Congratulations, Logan!" Mac said. "Rescuing Veronica from the clutches of an evil mad man is about the only exuse I would accept for blowing off your meeting with Professor What's-his-face. Good job."

"I called Professor What's-his-face." Logan told Mac. "He says we're golden."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Dick asked Piz.

"He didn't tell you about yesterday? He's a hero. Man, if I ever did anything that awesome, it's all I'd talk about!" Piz said. "He rescued Veronica from some psycho drug dealers in the desert!"

"Are you sure she's the one who needed rescuing?" Dick asked. "Cuz it's been my experience that..."

"Dick." Logan warned.

"What?" Dick saw the look on Logan's face. "Oh. Right. Fine."

"Fitzpatricks." Wallace told Dick.

"Seriously, man," Piz turned to Logan. "You rock! Is there anything you're afraid of?" Wallace, giving up, shrugged his shoulders and smiled blandly at Logan, who blinked, then turned to Veronica.

"Your Dad called me. He wants us to stop by his office before the Sheriff's press conference."

"Oh! He called you? Okay." she said.

"There's going to be a press conference?" Piz asked. "Sweet!"

Logan stood up looking extremely uncomfortable and put out a hand for Veronica, who took it and stood.

"Later, kids." She said. "Gotta go! Those accolades aren't going to collect themselves!"

They walked off, hand in hand. Piz watched them go while the other three watched Piz. When Logan and Veronica were well out of sight, he turned to them and said "Hey, we should go down to the Sheriff's office and watch that press conference!"

"Fag." said Dick.

* * *

IN THE RANGE ROVER

"I still have no idea how you found me yesterday." Veronica said as she buckled up. "Or why you were out there with the sheriffs. Or how anyone even knew I'd been taken."

"I'll probably have to tell you everything but-" Logan pulled into traffic as his phone chirped. "Hang on." He looked at the display. "I gotta take this. Echolls. Uh huh Yeah, go ahead and pay it out of that account. No, the South American trip is off; there's plenty of money in there. Go ahead. Yeah, thanks." He hung up the phone and looked at her. "Property taxes." He explained.

"Property...what property? I thought you sold the land the house was on?"

"I did. I used the money to buy a house."

"You own a house?" Veronica was shocked. "Where?" He told her the address, which made her frown, as a loud bell rang in her head. "But...that's Weevil's Grandma's house!"

"Yeah. I'm her landlord."

"Why did you do that?"

"Because I could. And because I knew it would drive Weevil nuts." He laughed. "I told him we could all live there together like a big crazy sit-com family. Anyway, the taxes are due."

"But...doesn't the renter usually cover that?"

"Yeah...I don't actually charge Mrs. Navarro rent."

Veronica's mouth fell open and she slumped back in her seat. "Does Weevil know that?"

"I hope not. Half the fun I get out of the situation is knowing he thinks I'd toss his grandma out onto the street."

"Only half?"

"Veronica." Logan looked at her. "Leticia Navarro was our housekeeper for ten years. My folks fired her over that credit card thing even though it wasn't her fault. I couldn't do anything about that and I would've hired her back but I no longer had a house that needed keeping. She used to give me milk and cookies when I'd had...a rough day."

Veronica sighed, remembering what constituted a rough day for Logan. "Wow." she smiled. "And you say_ I'm_ a marshmallow inside."

"That's me; a sticky mess with a burnt and blackened crust."

They had reached Keith Mars' office, so they parked the car and went upstairs.

"We're in here!" Keith called from his office when they entered.

"Hey Dad, what did you need to see us for? Leo!" Veronica saw who was with her Dad. "I'm so glad you're here!" She gave the deputy a big hug. "Thank you so much! You saved his life!"

"It was nothing," Leo said, looking over her head at Logan, "All in the line of duty."

"Nothing?" Veronica asked, looking up at the nasty bruise on his forehead. "You really did get a severe knock on the head, didn't you?"

"I actually asked your Dad to bring you here, " Leo explained. "I kinda need to talk to Logan."

"Come on, Honey, let's go grab some coffee," Keith said to her. "We'll let these two heroes talk in private."

When the door closed behind them, Leo sat on the edge of Keith's desk adn Logan dropped into the chair and looked up at him, expectantly.

"They want to give me a medal." Leo said.

"Take it." Logan shrugged.

"I didn't do what they think I did; you did."

"Who cares? You were right. This is much better for everyone."

"I was only thinking about the legalities of the situation! I never meant to set myself up as some kind of hero!"

"So what? Go for it, dude."

"I'm a fraud!"

"No. You're not. You took an oath to serve and protect and that's what you did. That's what you're doing. Forget about what happened out there last night; I _need you _to do this for me."

"You need me to take the credit for what you did? Why?"

"Think about it, dude." Logan stood. "If you did it, you're a hero. If I did it, it's just one more body at the feet of a psycho killer who keeps getting away with murder because he's rich, famous and white. I spent half of last year in an ankle monitor for the murder of Felix Toombs. A lot of people still think I stabbed him. They also think I had something to do with Cassidy Casablancas throwing himself off my roof. I know there are folks in this town who think I'm responsible for Aaron's death. Hell, I'll be you can find some who think I shot him, then ran up to the roof to toss Beaver off. The last thing I need is another dead body to my credit and this one's worse because it's true. I don't need that anymore than you need to explain to anyone how I came to be firing your gun last night."

"But this one's different; the guy who shot Liam Fitzpatrick is a hero!"

"So be the hero!" Logan began to pace in agitation. "Do you think I want that? I've been famous my whole life and IT SUCKS. I've had chicks throw themselves at me because they saw my picture in a magazine, which is _not _as cool as it sounds. I had to deal with reporters and photographers the day of my Mom's funeral! I've been stalked by reptiles with bylines who try to crawl into my life for something new to print. I had to talk about shit I'd rather forget ever happened on Larry Fucking King just to protect myself! Do this for me and I will seriously owe you."

Leo was shocked. Like most of the people of Neptune, he had never stopped to consider that maybe being Logan Echolls wasn't as much fun as it looked. He nodded.

"As long as you're okay with it." He said. "But I can't help but worry that we're taking the easy way out instead of the right way."

"There's a Hollywood saying: when faced with the choice between the facts and the story, go with the story. That may be the only thing Hollywood's ever gotten right. No one's going to remember this in six months, anyway. Hell, six weeks."

"Do you think you and I will ever collaborate on anything that isn't illegal?" Leo grinned.

Logan shrugged as he dropped back into the chair. "It's worked out okay so far."

* * *

THE COFFEE HOUSE NEXT DOOR

Veronica and Keith sat in the cafe, drinking coffee. Veronica was looking out the window, watching the people go by and Keith was watching his daughter.

"So, how are you doing, Kiddo?" he asked, wondering about the effects of the day before.

"I'm...doing better than I have in months, Dad." She smiled and turned to look at him. "Things sort of fell into place out there in the desert. Weird, huh?"

"Don't tell me you feel a sense of gratitude to Liam Fitzpatrick?"

"Lord, no. Let's not get carried away."

"Again?" Keith couldn't resist. Veronica chuffed a laugh. "I can't say that I'm sorry things worked out the way they did. My life will be a mite simpler now that he's gone. There are plenty of Fitzpatricks out there but he was the worst."

"Yeah. I'm really glad he's dead, Dad." Veronica admitted. "Ever since Aaron's acquittal, I've been pretty 'iffy' on the whole criminal justice system. Better to just let God sort 'em out."

"Things don't always work out, but you have to have faith in the system." Keith said, hating it when his daughter sounded so cynical. "The vast majority of the time, justice is served. Don't forget: we're P.I.s, not vigilantes."

"Right. A fine distinction if ever there was one."

"I take it you and Logan worked things out?"

"We've started." She smiled dreamily, her thoughts drifting back over the last day and a half. Suddenly, she sat straight up. "Oh my God, my car!"

"Where?" Keith looked around, as if expecting to see the Saturn plow through the front window.

"It's still where I parked it in San Juan Capistrano!" she started to laugh. "Oh, wow. Maybe Mac will be up for a road trip later this afternoon. She wants a chance to grill me on the finer details of my Big Adventure."

"I could take you."

"No, Dad, I'm sure you've got work to do."

"Well, yeah but...You don't want Logan to go with you?"

"No. I'd have to tell him why I was up there and I'm not ready to do that. I haven't heard from Charlie yet and I couldn't stand for him to be disappointed again." she chewed her lip.

"He's a good kid, Veronica." Ketih said. She looked up at him, her eyes shining. She nodded. "He's not what I had been lead to believe about him."

"Do you like him?" she asked softly.

"You can cover a lot of ground stuck in a car together for the better part of twelve hours. We talked about a lot and in between trips he went into the desert and brought you out in one piece. Yeah, I like him. I like him a lot."

"I'm so glad." she whispered.

"Did you think I might not?"

"It's just...it's so important that you do."

"Do you really think you'd choose someone I wouldn't like?" Keith grinned. "Don't you trust your own instincts any better than that?"

"Lately, my instincts haven't been worth an appraisal by Big Dick Casablancas."

"Ooh. That bad?"

"Sometimes. Not about Logan, though. Unless you count my instinct to _fight_ my instincts for two years, which makes no sense at all."

"Maybe, like everyone else, you confused the image with the person." Keith suggested. Veronica thought about that for a few moments, then nodded.

"I think I did." She admitted. "Whenever we got in trouble I assumed the worst of him. And the thing is, even when he does something stupid, he's always sorry and tries to fix things and even though I knew that about him, I acted like I didn't. Sometimes I really suck."

"I believe that's called 'being human'."

"Why am I so hard on people, Dad?"

"Because even though you've been hurt deeply by people who should've done everything to protect you, you still want to believe the best of them."

She thought about that for a moment. "Sounds like you're saying I'm a sticky mess under a burnt and blackened crust."

"Well, that's...certainly a colorful way to put it."

"Isn't it?" she smiled.

A few minutes later, Veronica was dumping her trash and the conversation between two young girls at a nearby table caused her to pause.

"...and it's really funny but scary too and the thing is there are _two killers_ so no one can figure it out because someone always has an alibi, until the end when that girl from Friends figures it out!" one of them told the other.

"Oh! See, I've seen 'Scream 2' but I never saw the first one." the second girl said.

"Well, it's the best." the first girl announced.

"Oh my God." Veronica whispered.

THE BALBOA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE

An hour later, Veronica, Keith, Logan, Leo, Vinnie and Cliff were gathered in Vinnie's office as reporters from the local and regional newspapers and television stations were setting up out front. There was even a crew from a San Diego TV station. "If it bleeds, it leads" and two dead in a hail of sheriff's gunfire was sensational enough to get some attention. If Logan's involvement were more widely known, the incident may have gotten national play.

"I'd rather my name wasn't mentioned at all." He said.

"I think that would be best." Keith backed him up. "Logan wasn't there in any official capacity and in fact, both Vinnie and I had ordered him to stay back with the vehicles and stay out of trouble. It adds nothing worthwhile to the story to let it get out that he's incapable of following orders."

"That's not news." Logan smirked. Veronica punched his arm.

"I have to agree." Cliff said. "Releasing his involvement to the public really does nothing more than open the Sheriff's department to a civil suit from the surviving Fitzpatricks. They see the name 'Echolls' and they'll see dollar signs even if it means going through this department to get to his bank account, which even when you win, you'll lose."

"I don't see an upside." Vinnie agreed. "Best case scenario, people will wonder what a civilian was doing out there and why we let him get caught by the bad guys in the middle of a rescue operation."

"So we all agree that Mr. Echolls here had nothing important to do with the case and therefore can be completely left out of any public statement?" Cliff asked the group. Everyone nodded.

"I'd rather...not talk, either." Veronica said. "I'm just the victim here and no one really cares about that. Just say I was rescued due to the heroic efforts of the Balboa and Kretchner County Sheriff departments and suffered no more harm than frayed nerves and possibly a broken nail or two. Does that work for everyone?"

"Do I really have to go out there?" Leo asked.

"The fuck!" Vinnie exclaimed. "I've never seen so many shrinkin' fuckin' violets! Keith, are you with me? Or are you gonna leet me hog the camera? 'Cause I'll do it. I swear, I'll do it. And yes, Tomato, you're my hero du jour. I'll go first, tell everybody what you did and you can answer questions and explain why its better to be lucky than good. And the whole of SoCal with think the Balboa Sheriff's Department is populated by nothing but stud muffins. Jeez."

"That works for me!" Veronica said. Logan punched her in the arm.

"I can't help thinking that Lamb would've hung Logan out to dry for the chance to be on Entertainment Tonight." Keith said to Vinnie.

"Lamb was a fuckin' moron." Vinnie said. "Smartest thing he ever did was get killed int he line of duty." He looked at the two kids. "We're done with you. Get out."

Veronica hopped up and pulled Logan after her. Keith followed and Leo stood as well. "Could you please not call me 'Tomato' on camera, Sheriff?"

"The fuck you want me to call you?" Vinnie was getting irritated. "Isn't that your NAME?"

"It's D'Amato."

"Tomato, Tomahto, shit."

"Thank you, sir." Leo left the office.

Vinnie glared at Cliff, teh only one left in the office with him. "WHAT?" he asked.

"Nothing." Cliff said. "I don't even know why I'm here."

No sooner had the door closed behind Cliff than there was a knock on the door. "NOW WHAT?" Vinnie called.

"Can I have a minute?" Veronica poked her head around the door.

"Veronica! Have you finally come to your senses? It's gonna take more than a minute, if I do say so myself."

She rolled her eyes and came into the office, closing the door behind her. "It's about the campus rapes case."

"That investigation was closed months ago. Thanks in part to the fact that the scumbag was caught red handed trying to rape, ah...that would be you."

"I really want those two locked up." She said. "I know there are problems with the case and something occurred to me today. You can't charge Mercer with all the rapes."

"We can't?"

"No. It's been bothering me for months. How did Mercer manage to have seemingly air tight alibis for the nights of several of the rapes?"

"I don't know but I'll bet you do."

"He didn't commit them!"

"He didn't."

"He did not. Are you familiar with the details of the Dean O'Dell case?"

"I've been the Sheriff for about seven minutes and I spent the last day and a half rescuing you. So no, I am not yet up to speed on that case."

"Tim Foyle, the perp, had a large diagram on his office wall, containing all the rape evidence, ostensibly to help him solve the case. He wasn't trying to solve the rapes; he was mapping them to hide his own."

"Hunh?"

"Tim's girl friend was notoriously promiscuous. I was at the party where he dumped her. I heard him say that every time she cheated on him, he was with someone else, too. I found photos of three different Pi Sig fraternity brothers circled and pinned on Tim's wall. I know for a fact that two of those Pi Sigs were guys she slept with."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." He put up his hands as if she were actually advancing on him. "You're telling me that this guy used a serial rapist stalking coeds to hide his own assaults? That there were, in fact, not one but _two _serial rapists working the same campus at the same time, using the same M.O., each providing alibis for the other?"

"YES! Oh my God, yes!" Veronica couldn't believe what a difference a competent sheriff made.

"But Veronica, this Foyle guy is already up on capital murder charges. No one's gonna wanna bother tacking a few rapes onto his sentence."

"No, but the point is you can't charge Mercer Hayes with the rapes he didn't commit!"

"Or he'll be able to provide alibis and he'll get off." Vinnie nodded.

"YES. Vinnie, you have no idea how great it is that you understand me!"

"Oh, Veronica...I think we could understand each other very well," He cocked his head and strolled toward her.

"Don't make me tase you." she dipped her hand into her bag and he stopped. "You need to find out when Bonnie Capistrano slept with Chip Diller, Dick Casablancas and that other guy, I forget his name...they're all in evidence regarding Dean O'Dell and Tim Foyle. I'm betting there were rapes within a week of those hook ups and those are the ones Mercer will have solid alibis for."

"I'll get on it." Vinnie nodded. "I really hate rapists. They make the rest of us pervs look bad."

"Thank you, Vinnie. It's really a novel experience to believe that the Sheriff's Department is actually going to investigate."

"New broom, Veronica! New broom. Now leave me alone while I prepare for my debut in front of my soon to be adoring public."

* * *

THE BALBOA COUNTY SEAT

Despite, or perhaps because of their mockery of him, Piz's enthusiasm for the press conference was too much for the others to resist and they found themselves among the crowd in front of the Sheriff's Department shortly before one O'clock.

"I didn't think there would be so many people here." Mac said, getting jostled between Dick and Wallace.

"Most of them are probably Fitzpatricks." Wallace said. Mac looked at him, her eyes wide.

"God, I hope not!" she said.

"Oh, like they'd try anything with the entire sheriff's department." Dick snorted. "As long as the cameras are running, everybody's safe. Plus, we're covered." At this, he patted his own hip.

"What?" Wallace demanded.

"I'm packin'." Dick said. "Smith and Wesson; don't leave home without it."

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Wallace, looking horrified, stepped away from Dick.

"What?" Dick asked. "Don't worry, Bro- I know how to use it. My Dad's been taking me to the range since I was 13. I know better than to wave it around like an idiot."

"OH GOD." Wallace looked around in a panic and Dick burst out laughing. He elbowed Mac.

"Check it out!" He chortles. "Wallace thinks I'm armed. Dude! I don't carry my gun around town. Well," He leered at Mac, "only the gun I was born with."

"Ew." Mac placed herself on the other side of Wallace, who managed to look both disgusted and relieved at the same time.

"I do have one." Dick said. "And I do know how to use it. But I'd never carry it around. Throws off the drape of my pants and let's admit it; this boy is all about the drape o' the pants."

Piz paid no attention to the other three. He was scanning the crowd for Veronica and Logan. He edged through the mass of people until he was just off to the side of the podium, where Neptune's new sheriff, Vinnie VanLowe was getting miked and ready to speak.

Piz looked around and noticed the young deputy next to him studying his face.

"Hey." he nodded to Leo D'Amato.

"Hey." Leo nodded. "I couldn't help noticing your bruises. Car accident?"

"No." Piz laughed self deprecatingly. "I sorta got beat up."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It's no biggie. It was just a misunderstanding. Hey, you probably know the guy who did it! Logan Echolls."

"No shit? He did that to you?"

"Yeah, but like I said; we're good." Piz said quickly. "So you do know Logan?"

"I know him. You know Veronica?"

"Yes! Yeah, Veronica's great."

"Yeah, she's pretty cool. I used to date her."

"Really? Me too!" Piz laughed.

"You did?" Leo grinned. "I actually think she dumped me for Logan."

"Oh my God, me too! Well, I mean, I actually dumped _her _for Logan. I mean, not _for_ Logan, obviously, but, you know; because she's still in love with him."

"Jesus!" Leo laughed. "is that why..?"

"Yeah, well...no. Peripherally." Piz shrugged. Then he added, as though he couldn't help it, "he's the coolest guy I've ever met."

Just then, Vinnie stepped up to the podium and began to speak but Leo looked at Piz. Then he looked at the Sheriff as he described Leo's heroism during the rescue. Leo looked at Piz again and nodded. "Yeah." he simply said.

Then Vinnie said "Ladies and Gentlemen," he sounded like the announcer on WWF, "I give you the hero of the hour; Leo ToMAHto!"

Leo nodded to Piz and took the podium

Inside the building, Veronica and Logan watched the whole thing on TV. They had known better than to go outside while the reporters were there. As the victim, Veronica would've been swamped with questions despite her desire for privacy and Logan was simply a press magnet. Nothing could make the story more appealing than the addition of Neptune's Favorite Son, even as a subplot.

"Oh look, there's Piz." Veronica pointed at the screen. "I wonder if Mac and Wallace are here?"

Logan peeked out between the blinds and scanned the crowd. "Yep. Dick, too." That reminded him of something and he told Veronica he'd be back, then he went looking for Cliff, whom he found watching Leo on a TV in a back office.

"Dude, can I talk to you for a minute?" Logan asked, taking a seat.

"Sure thing, kid. Can I bill you for an hour?" Cliff never took his eyes off the screen.

"You can bill my buddy, Dick. He needs a lawyer."

"A friend of yours is in legal trouble? Shocking."

"He needs a divorce. He got married in Vegas a few months back..."

"And it was a mistake. Again, total shock."

"He's out front right now, I can introduce you when this thing is over."

"What's this friend of yours like?"

"Do you still have that 'I'm with Stupid' T-shirt?"

At that, Cliff finally turned and looked at Logan with a smile.

Logan stood to return to Veronica. In the hall, he ran into Vinnie, who nodded to him and said "Walk with me, kid." Logan raised his eyebrows but followed Vinnie into his office, where the sheriff shut the door and said "Sit."

Logan had been through this sort of thing too many times before not to be extremely wary. He sat and said nothing.

"This is a great day for the Balboa County Sheriff's Department." Vinnie said, perching himself on the edge of his desk. "Tomato is out there covering us in glory. Yes sir; a great day. He's in front of the cameras right now, describing how lucky he got out there last night. That's police work for you; luck can be the difference between livin' and dying'. He sat right in that chair," Vinnie pointed at Logan, "and told me he wasn't even trying to blow off Liam Fitzpatrick's head. Not even trying and that bullet took him right through the left ear and out his right eye. Brains, skull, hair, poof! They say a thing of beauty is a joy forever and they are right, my friend. They are right." Vinnie allowed himself to get lost in the pleasant memory of Liam's exploding head for a moment before continuing. "Tomato claimed it was a lucky shot and that he couldn't do it again in a hundred years and I believe him. I don't think Tomato could ever make that shot." Vinnie looked at Logan, his face the picture of friendship. "But you could."

Logan felt his blood run cold as he met Sheriff VanLowe's eye. He said nothing.

"I got a buddy works at the range." Vinnie said. "He tells me things. Like who's registered to carry, who's not but shoots anyway and how often. And when a wet behind the ears kid who only comes in a handful of times with Big Dick Casablancas hits the bull's eye with one snap shot, he thinks that's something I might be interested in."

They stared at each other for a long moment but Logan was too old a hand at interviews and interrogations to betray himself.

"Don't worry, kid!" Vinnie finally said. "I got no reason in the world to give up your secret. As things stand, it's all good for the Sheriff's department. I start asking questions like 'what were you doing with my deputy's gun?' or 'how was a civilian, and a kid at that, able to do what the cops haven't been able to pull off in years?' and it doesn't look good for the department. Makes it look like Lamb is still in charge. No, this is much better. I'm only telling you this so you know; I'm on your side!" Vinnie grinned his best shit eating grin.

"Well," Logan said with a small smile, "you don't actually know anything, do you?"

"Just playin' a hunch, kid. It's what I do best. I can't help noticing though; you got the hots for Veronica and you're not gonna let her know that you're the cool hand who saved her Dad's bacon out there? What?"

Logan stood and left the office without another word. Vinnie sat back, satisfied that he now owned a very valuable marker.

* * *

The press conference over, the sheriff's department was back to work but the atmosphere inside the office was animated and festive. the deputies were all congratulating Leo on his first successful press conference and Vinnie for his first successful case as sheriff. Mac, Wallace and Piz had come inside looking for Veronica and Logan, whom they found in the lobby with Leo. Dick drifted in after everyone else and Logan used the opportunity to introduce him to Cliff.

"Duuude." Dick said, shaking Cliff's hand but looking at Logan. "I thought about all that crap you said this morning and I think I should see Melinda again before i decide if the big 'D' is the way to go."

"Great." Cliff said. "Here's my card, don't hesitate to call after you've seen the missus again. Now, I'm going to go find someone here with whom I can have a legal drink. Rumor has it, Vinnie brought in a bottle of champagne to christen his office. I believe I saw Keith Mars heading that way."

"Yeah," Dick continued to Logan after Cliff disappeared down the hall. "I figured a chick that hot deserved one more go around before I cut the chain."

"You're just a born romantic, aren't you?" Logan asked.

"Least I'm not a pussy-whipped sad sack like some guys I call you." Dick was looking across the lobby to where Veronica and her friends were talking to Leo. "Really, dude. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't say anything and she ate you for breakfast again. So here goes: don't do it. Don't. Because I love you, man."

"I'm pretty sure I already told you once, Dick: you have a problem with Veronica; you're dead to me."

"Dude."

"I'm serious."

Dick had known Logan long enough to have heard that tone of voice and he knew the risk. He took it anyway. "The only problem I have ever had with Veronica is what she does to you."

"DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT." Logan snapped. He glared at Dick for a moment then turned on his heel and followed Cliff down the hall. Dick watched him go, then sighed and wandered back to where the others were now watching a replay of the press conference.

"Look at Vinnie!" Veronica laughed. "I swear, he has been waiting for this moment his entire life!"

Dick hadn't paid any attention to what was being said during the actual presser but he listened to Vinnie's speech on the monitor.

"Damn." He said to Mac and Wallace. "That was some fine shooting! Do you have any idea how hard s head shot at that range is? I don't know anyone who could do that except my Dad, 'cuz he's like, a machine. And Logan but only when he's super pissed."

Veronica's head snapped around to stare at Dick, who was still watching the monitor, seemingly unaware of the significance of what he'd just said. her memories of that moment from the night before swam in her head. She recalled seeing her Dad, seeing Liam, the gun, tearing away from Logan...

Or did he pull away from her?

She had been so focused on her father that she couldn't remember hearing the report. Had she seen a muzzle flash out of the corner of her eye? Had Leo really caught up to them?

Had the kill shot been lucky, or good?

Did it matter?

She shook her head and looked back at the monitor where Leo now took the podium. Several of the deputies began ribbing him for how he looked on screen.

"I think you look great!" Mac said to Leo, who grinned and shook his head.

Down the hall, Logan had walked into Vinnie's office where the new sheriff, the old sheriff and the lawyer had indeed cracked open a bottle of bubbly, which they were drinking out of styrofoam cups. He had caught them in mid joke, apparently, as Vinnie's mouth was open and both Keith and Cliff were laughing.

"Mr. Echolls!" Vinnie cried cheerfully, holding up another cup. "Join us!"

"He's under age," Keith cut in. "what kind of a sheriff are you?"

"A cool one." Vinnie answered.

"No cup for you!" Cliff told Logan, who ignored the three of them, walked to the desk, picked up the open bottle, chugged it, slammed it back onto the desk, then turned and left the room. The three men looked at each other.

"I did't see that." Cliff said.

"Didn't see what?" Vinnie asked.

Keith sighed, then put down his cup and went after Logan.

Cliff looked at Vinnie and said "I'm not having fun anymore."

Keith found Logan sprawled on the bench outside the hall to the holding cells, his legs stretched in front of him and his head tilted back against the wall, staring at the ceiling. It was the quietest corner of the building. He sat next to Logan and fished in his pocket.

"Lifesaver?" he offered. Logan didn't look at him but the corner of his mouth twitched. Keith waited. Logan took the candy.

"Ah, it's just Dick, being Dick." He finally said.

Keith nodded, as if he knew what that meant.

* * *

Back in the front lobby, Dick went looking for the men's room. Washing his hands, he heard voices outside the door.

"I'm telling you, that's what I heard." someone was saying. "Keith Mars's daughter was in Vinnie's office with the door closed and I clearly heard her yelling 'Yes, oh my god, yes! yes!"

Dick crumpled the paper towel, threw it in the trash and yanked open the door, startling the two uniformed deputies standing there.

"You say stuff like that about Ronnie," He said, glaring at them, "You'd better hope Sheriff Mars finds you before Logan does." Then he pushed past them and went back out to the front where everyone else was still having fun.

"Do you have a couple of hours free?" Veronica asked Mac. "You up for a short road trip north?"

"Are you going to fill me in on the 'not for public consumtion' details?" Mac asked. "Then, I'm totally free!"

"Ronnie, can I talk to you?" Dick interrupted the girls.

"Uh...I'll find out if Piz and Wallace are ready to go," Mac said, looking surprised. Veronica raised her eyebrows at Dick, who waited until Mac had left. Then he turned to Veronica, with as serious an expression on his face as she had ever seen.

"He's my best friend, Ronnie." He said. "If you break his heart again, I swear, I'll kill you."

Veronica stared back at him, her mouth falling open. Then, her eyes teared up and she shocked the hell out of him by raising herself up on her toes and throwing her arms around his neck.

"Thank you!" she whispered, hugging him tightly. "Thank you for caring about him!"

"I mean it!" he said, hugging her back. "I will totally kill you."

Logan walked up form the back hall just in time to see them embrace. As he watched, they broke the hug and he saw Veronica look up at Dick, smile and nod. Logan took a deep breath, let himself relax, and smiled.

* * *

Veronica and Logan walked hand in hand down the steps of the court house. "Let's get out of here before Piz asks for a three way," Logan said, indicating their group of friends already by the curb.

"There's more to Dick than meets the eye, isn't there?" Veronica said, looking at the tall blond who was mercilessly poking at Piz.

"There has to be." Logan said dryly. That made Veronica laugh, which made Logan's day.

"I'm not gay." Piz said, finally getting fed up with Dick. "Not that there's anything wrong with that."

"Maybe not," Dick chortled, "but you definitely want to suck Logan's-"

"DICK!" Logan interrupted, then dropped his face in his hand when he realized that hadn't worked at all. Wallace laughed so hard he almost choked and Mac looked like she was having a heart attack. Veronica's eyes and mouth were wide with glee but she managed to keep her composure.

"You gotta stop coming on to Piz, Dick!" she said, cocking her head. "No means 'no'."

"Hey!" Piz objected.

"I'll have you know, I'm a married man." Dick answered. "Married to a smokin' hot babe, in fact."

"_What?" _Veronica couldn't beleive she had missed this piece of campus news.

"It's true." Logan said. "Worst Vegas hangover, _ever."_

_"_How do you think _she_ feels?" Veronica asked him.

"She better not gain any weight, though." Dick said, thoughtfully. "then she'd actually _be_ a claw-foot tub."

"You coming?" Logan asked Veronica, indicating the Range Rover.

"Mac and I have some girl talk to catch up on, " she said. "But I'll see you later, Doll-Face." She reached up and kissed him, then she squeezed his chin and said "Mmmm,_ you._ You have no idea!"

"Maybe not," He kissed her again and murmured " Piz better not try to explain it to me."

"You have any finals left?" Mac asked Logan.

"No, I'm done. That econ stuff was the last thing I had to take care of."

"Good. You have work to do. We need new content. That's your department. You can have the Ass King there help you."

"Wait, I thought I was the King Ass, you're the Queen as and he's the Jack Ass?"

"Aces!" Mac smiled. "Get to work." Logan threw her a salute as she and Veronica headed for her VW.

"How are things in the Ass world?" Dick asked as the guys all got into the Range Rover.

"Full steam ahead." Logan replied, putting the rig in gear.

"Sweet! Does that make us Kigna of the Ass World?"

"King of the Ass Whole World, Dick."

"Niiice." Dick said, nodding.

"You're gay." Piz reached forward and slapped Dick's head.

"You wish!" Dick yelled. "I will not help you cheat on Logan!"

"Should we dump these two on the PCH?" Logan asked, catching Wallace's eye in the rear view mirror.

"Fine with me," Wallace said. "But Piz promised he'd decorate for my party tomorrow night."

"Et tu, Wallace?" Piz turned in frustration.

"What party?" Dick swiveled around. "How come you didn't invite us?"

"I was invited." Logan said. "Of course, Parker may have _un_invited me."

"Payback for all the parties you never invited us to in high school." Wallace said to Dick.

"You always got invited to my parties." Logan said. "Just...not by me."

"Yeah, that was me who never invited you." Dick said. "I didn't even know your name. It's 'Walter', right?"

"Fuck you." Wallace laughed.

"Didn't you know that if I could do that I've never come to school?" Dick replied. He got blank stares from the back seat. "Damn. That was funnier when Logan said it."

"Everything's funnier when I say it." Logan said.

"It's a Bon Voyage party." Piz explained to Dick.

"Sounds gay!" Dick warned.

"Wallace is leaving for Africa on Saturday to join the Invisible Children Campaign." Piz finished.

"Dude!" Dick swiveled around again. "They have invisible children in Africa? Can you bring one back?" his voice dropped to a whisper. "Do you have one with you right now?"

"Dick," said Logan, "Every time I think you can't get any dumber, you open your mouth and prove me wrong."

"Thanks, dude."

MAC'S VOLKSWAGON

"So, where are we going?" Mac asked as she pulled away from the curb. "and how much of this tale have you left out?"

"So, so much! Our story begins in San Juan Capistrano."

"It does? I could have sworn it began in the food court when Logan pounded the snot out of Gory Sorokin."

"Oh yeah." Veronica frowned. "I guess it could have started there."

"Or a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away. Youv'e been ass over elbows for Logan almost since the day I met you. Even when you were with Duncan, I couldn't help but notice you spent an awful lot of time and energy monitoring Logan. Sometimes, Bond, I think you're the least self aware girl I've ever known."

"I've come to the same conclusion, Q. I was in San Juan Capistrano trying to fix that."

"Start with the food court. How could you let Logan go after Gory?"

"I didn't 'let' Logan go after Gory! I never 'let' Logan do anything!"

"True dat."

"Damn. I am trying not to be such a monstrous shrew of a girl friend." Veronica wailed. "Is there anything less attractive than rank insecurity?"

"My first boyfriend was a homicidal maniac, so yes. But if you're insecure about Logan, you're an idiot. I was never going to tell you this but even when he was dating Parker, he used to ask me about you all the time."

"He did?"

"He _so _did. I finally had to tell him to stop. It was becoming mondo uncomfortable."

"Tell me again why you two were spending so much time together?"

"What, jealous of _me, _now?"

"Oh, God." Veronica sighed. "I'm jealous of the socks he wears, okay?"

"And they only go on his feet! Did you ever tell him that?"

"I think he figured it out."

"He hired me to help him with his econ final. He needed a business plan and we came up with a winner. That's actually how Max and I got together; at Logan's."

"And here I thought it was just serendipity that brought you two uber nerds together. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I made it my policy never to mention Echolls in your presence. Was that wrong?"

"Here I thought I was being so cool."

"Wallace and I know you a little better than that."

"Wallace could tell?"

"Wallace was worried sick about you. He sort of...pushed Piz to step in after Logan and Parker started dating."

"Oh. Well, I'm sure Piz will be forever grateful for _that_."

"I get the feeling Piz is over you, V!" Mac laughed.

"Man. Dumped for my own man." Veronica said, in mock chagrin. "Talk about a hopeless passion!"

"Much as I enjoy ripping on Piz, can we get back on point, here? What are we gonna do about Logan and Gory?"

"Already did it." Veronica said. "I threw myself on the mercy of Jake Kane and begged him to step in on Logan's behalf."

"That worked? I thought Jake Kane _hated _you?"

"Well, he might. He certainly hates my Dad. But I went all in on the idea that he didn't hate Logan. Logan practically grew up in his house, you know. I think if he could have, Logan would've moved in with the Kanes. When I was in Jake's house, I saw huge portraits of Lilly and Duncan. It can't be easy for either Jake or Celeste to have pretty much lost both their kids. I exploited that."

"Wow. Good work."

"Yep. It involved some serious self debasement, which I choose to believe was good for me."

"You do seem much improved."

"Oh yeah," Veronica nodded. "and that wasn't even close to the most humiliating moment of my week!"

On the ride north, she filled Mac in on the details from the beat down in the food court, where she realized that no matter how angry she may get with him, Logan Echolls was and would always be the only man for her, to being dumped by Piz, to throwing herself at Logan and being rejected.

"Ouch! No! What an idiot!" Mac cried.

"No, he was right." Veronica said. "Why on earth should he have given me another chance? God, I feel like such a fool."

"I don't get it!" Mac slapped the steering wheel. "How in hell do you go from total rejection Tuesday evening to room service Thursday morning?"

"Well, quit interrupting and I'll tell you. God, woman, can't you keep a still tongue in your head?"

She described her meetings with Jake and Charlie and how Liam had abducted her. Mac knew the story after that point but she was interested in the finer details which she knew Veronica wouldn't have bothered the boys with.

"Seriously, Veronica. What went through your head when Logan came through that door?"

"One instant of pure joy, followed immediately by terror like I haven't felt since..."

"The roof of the Neptune Grand." Mac finished for her. She nodded.

"It's okay, though." Mac went on. "Everything has worked out fine. If that which doesn't kill us makes us stronger, you and I are Wonder Women!"

"Adamantium ovaries!" Veronica guffawed.

"No wonder we're both attracted to bad boys," Mac laughed. "They're the only ones who can handle us!"

"Oh, I've had to reclassify Logan." Veronica purred. "Turns out all this time I thought he was a bad boy when he's really been a Bad Ass. Huge difference."

"No lie. Just ask Piz!"

Mac almost had to pull off to the side of the road when Veronica described how Logan had finally come back to her after all the action at the Fitzpatrick's cabin.

"Bobcat? Really? I'm swooning!" she breathed. Veronica just nodded, with a smile she would have described as 'stupid ass' if it hadn't been on her own face.

"_Kissing _Logan is like dancing," she said, "so you can just imagine..."

"Stop! You'll ruin me for life!" Mac shrieked.

"Ruined for life is not a bad place to be, missy."

They talked, laughed and swooned all the way up to San Juan Capistrano, where Veronica's car was still parked where she'd left it the day before.

"Here's what I don't get," Mac said, pulling up behind the Saturn. "How in the world did your Dad and Logan know you were gone so fast? I could understand if you'd been snatched from school, or in front of your house but up here?"

"I know. That part of the mystery still eludes me." Veronica mused. "I've tried to ask Logan a couple of times and I really can't tell if he's avoiding answering me or not. I'll get it out of him, though. Never fear, Q."

"Try to remember your end game, Bond. Maybe its time to stop asking questions you don't want to know the answers to."

"Your unassailable logic really pisses me off, Q."

To be continued...


	5. Chapter 5

Mine Sweeper

WALLACE AND PIZ'S ROOM

Wallace was packing boxes in his room, preparing for leaving the country. Piz was at his end of the dorm, packing up his own stuff.

"Do you think your Mom's garage has room for some of this junk, too?" Piz asked. "I can't believe how much crap I've accumulated this year, especially since I started out with nothing but what Veronica was able to recover. I don't know what to do with all this while I'm in New York. Do I actually need any of it? What would I really miss if it all disappeared?"

"You expect an answer to any of that?" Wallace asked, glancing at the stack of boxes Piz had. "Mom's got a pretty big garage. Plus, she has a garage sale every July."

They were interrupted by a knock on the door, followed by Apollo. "Wallace, I see you're getting ready for your trip."

"Hey man! Yeah," Wallace said, dropping onto the bed "I've had all my immunizations, I got everything on the list and it's all packed up. Got my ticket for Saturday morning. Nothing left but the party tomorrow. You're coming, aren't you?"

"Of course. Olympia and I wouldn't miss it. I'll be leaving on Monday for Chicago. I actually came looking for Veronica but I see she's not here."

"No. Veronica's not...she doesn't...we broke up." Piz said.

"You and Veronica were dating?" Apollo asked. "I just thought she hung out here because you're all friends."

"She was my girlfriend when you met her. I'm the reason she even knew about you! You couldn't tell?" Piz demanded.

"I never got that vibe but then, I never really saw you together except perhaps, here with Wallace." Apollo shrugged.

"Yeah, we're friends." Wallace frowned at Piz. "They dated for like, a minute and a half but not anymore."

"Yep." Piz placed another box on top of the stack. "I am off to New York City."

"Really?" Apollo's face lit up. "I'll be in New York on the second week of my book tour. Perhaps we could meet? Lunch or something? I don't know what my schedule will be like but I think it would be nice to see a familiar face."

"That would be awesome!" Piz grinned. "I have no idea what my time will be like, either but I can't believe they wouldn't encourage a meeting with a best selling author!"

"Why you looking for V?" Wallace asked Apollo.

"I just thought I'd take the opportunity to thank her again, for reuniting me with my father before I leave town. It's been...wonderful! I hoped I'd find her here."

"She'll be here tomorrow night. Tell her then." Wallace said. "We're trying to pack up everything of value before this place gets trashed."

"You're planning on trashing your room on the last day of the semester? Is that wise?" Apollo frowned.

"It's nt that we're planning it," Wallace said. "We're just preparing for it."

"Dick Casablancas found out about the party and we're afraid he's gonna show up." Piz finished.

* * *

THE NEPTUNE GRAND

The elevator doors opened onto the eleventh floor and Veronica stepped off, right into Logan's arms. He quickly silenced her squeak of surprise, spinning her around and away from the elevator.

"How did you know I was on my way up?" she laughed when he finally let her up for air. "Did Tina call you when I came through the lobby?"

"No, I've actually been standing there for like, two hours."

"Two hours? You must be hungry, then."

"More sleepy, actually."

"Oh. Well, maybe I should go, let you catch up on your rest." She turned back toward the elevator and he grabbed her around the waist and whisked her down the hall to his suite.

"It's amazing how energized I feel, just seeing you hear!" He said as he kicked the door shut behind them. "Food's not a bad idea, we're going to need our energy-" she kissed him.

"Make up your mind," He said, brushing her bangs off her forehead. "What do you want first: dinner or dessert?"

"Feed me, please." She smile. "I'm going to need all the strength I have for what I've got planned for you."

Logan ordered their dinner and Veronica bounced onto the couch.

"Dick said something interesting at the press conference today." she said.

"No he didn't."

"He didn't know it was interesting."

"That, I believe."

"He was telling us about visiting the range with his Dad and how difficult it is to make a shot like the hone that killed Liam." she watched Logan's face. "He said the only people he knew who could make a shot like that were his Dad...and you." Logan's eyes flew to hers for a moment, neither of them moved.

"What happened out there?" She asked, softly.

"You were there." He said, his voice tight. "You know what happened."

"Yeah," She breathed. "Leo didn't shoot Liam Fitzpatrick."

Logan leaned back against the wall. "Does it matter? Who cares who shot him as long as he's dead?"

"It matters to me." She stood and walked over to him. "Logan, you...you..." she searched for words as he waited for the hammer to fall. "YOU ROCK!"

He almost slid down the wall in relief. "You're not mad?"

"Mad? I was there! If you hadn't done it, Dad would be dead and who knows who else? _He wanted to kill you and rape me."_

Logan shook his head and explained, "Mad that I didn't tell you."

"I never would have suspected if I hadn't overheard Dick." She shook her head. "Do you know what a nightmare it would be if the truth were known?"

"That's what Leo said. He took the gun from me before I even realized it was over."

"Making Leo the shooter was the right thing to do. that was the second best decision you made out there. The best was taking his gun in the first place. I don't even want to think what would've happened if you hadn't done that but the fewer people who know the truth, the better."

"Sheriff Van Lowe thinks he knows." Logan said. "I didn't say anything but I guess he's got a mole at the range."

"Vinnie's got a lot of moles." she acknowledged.

"He said he wouldn't rat me out. Said it was better for the department this way." Logan said as Veronica nodded. "It occurs to me that it's better for him, too, if I owe him."

"You didn't admit it?" she asked, frowning. He shook his head. "Then he has nothing on you. If he didn't dust Leo's gun for your prints, and he didn't test your hands for powder residue, then he has no proof. Also, he's gone on _extremely _public record giving all the credit to Leo. Nope, it looks much worse for him if he ever suggests that the shooter was really you. He just wants you to _think _you owe him.  
"He's a good investigator and despite the act he puts on, nowhere near as stupid as Lamb but he can't be trusted, Logan. The good news is he _can_ be bought and I'm pretty sure he's well within your price range."

"Well, if I ever go shopping for public officials, I guess I know where to start."

"You amaze me!" she said, her eyes shining.

"Cut it out." He walked over to the couch and dropped down.

"I'm giddy with appreciation and you want me to cut it out?"

"Raising your expectations has never worked out well for me."

"Well, I got news for you, Doll Face: you just kicked that bar sky high!"

"Doll Face?" he looked at her and spread his hands. "Really?"

"Pookie?"

"I killed a man and I feel absolutely nothing but relief that he's dead. I don't know if that will last or if it's normal but I'd rather you didn't pretend that I'm some kind of stone cold killer."

She came over to the couch and straddled his lap, putting her hands on his shoulders. "We both know you don't know the first thing about being cold and self defense or the defense of others doesn't make you a killer. What it makes you," She kissed him, "Is seriously Bad Ass!"

"Yeah." he said, quietly sarcastic. "I'm a bad ass. You've known exactly how tough I am since the minute we found out my Mom jumped off the bridge. It was a six hour drive out to that cabin. Your Dad knows how much of that time I spent crying."

"I love you for that more than anything else." she murmured, sliding her arms around his neck and resting her forehead on his. There was a knock on the door.

"We could stay like this forever or we can eat dinner," He said. "Can't do both." She sighed and got up. Logan opened the door for Jeff Ratner to wheel in their dinner. The waiter looked at both of them as he removed the covers.

"Get that tattoo yet?" he asked Veronica with a smirk.

"You'll never know." she answered, smiling sweetly at him. Logan cocked an eyebrow at her but didn't ask what they were talking about. He handed Jeff a tip and walked to the door with him.

"Go home and get some sleep." Logan said under his breath before returning to Veronica, who was eyeing their dinner.

"He is always around here!" she said. "Don't you find that creepy?"

"I asked for him."

Veronica's eyebrows shot up.

"What?" he sat next to her and handed her a plate. "Do you have any idea how common it is for reporters and paparazzi to pose as hotel workers to get at people? Him, at least I know. And he doesn't give a shit about me as long as I tip well. It's perfect."

"You are getting a little paranoid, aren't you?"

"You're the one who keeps telling me how many people are out to get me." He propped his feet up on the table and began eating.

"You can request who brings you your food? And they honor it?"

"I've been living in the Presidential Suite for two years; I can pretty much have whatever I want at the Neptune Grand."

"Wow. It _is _good to be King! So..." she mused, "Ratner makes you feel safe. I guess I'll have to chalk that one up in his 'win' column."

"Yeah." Logan said. _More than you know._

"I have a few more questions." She said, digging into her dinner.

"Great." Down went his fork. "I don't want to play this game with you."

"Logan, this is a game you can't lose."

"Heard that before. The next day you walked out of here for good."

"That was my mistake and I'm sorry." She put on her best contrition face. "I'll tell you what; I'll make it worth your while. I'll ask and if you don't want to answer, take off an item of clothing. If you _do _answer, I'll remove something. Want to play now?"

"Yes. Take off your shirt."

"We haven't started yet!"

"Reneging on the deal already? Pass." He began to eat his dinner again.

"Oh, fine." She said in a long suffering voice, taking off her shirt. "What's been bugging me is how you found me so fast. You came sauntering through that cabin door not two hours after we got there. How is that?"

"I sauntered through the door? I remember being thrown through it."

"That doesn't answer my question. The shoes stay on."

"Isn't it obvious?" he shrugged. "Someone saw you. Shoes."

"Shoe." she toed one off. "No, it's not obvious. I...wasn't even in Neptune when Liam found me. Who could have seen me?"

"Someone who knew you didn't want to get thrown into Liam's van. Other shoe."

Her second shoe hit the floor.

"I know Dad has had some kind of on going trouble with Liam...I also know Vinnie has worked with the Fitzpatricks...Do you think one of them had a tail on Liam."

"Possibly. Jeans."

"That was only a rhetorical question and 'possibly' isn't a real answer." She thought for a moment. "How did you get involved?"

"Is that a real question? Fine." He peeled off his shirt.

"You don't want to tell me how you got involved?" She was thoroughly confused.

"No, I just want to get naked. Jeans."

"You-I-Oh!" She shrugged and wiggled out of her jeans, dropping them to the floor with the rest of her clothes. She tucked her feet under herself and thought. She only had her bra and panties left and was trying to figure out what her next two questions should be. She looked at him.

"Dad said you brought _him _out there. Are you the one who told _them_ about the abduction?"

Logan grinned. "Yes."

She bit her lip but slowly reached around and unclasped her bra. It joined the pile of her clothes on the floor.

"_Please ask me another question." _he breathed. She smiled and cocked her head.

"How did you know?"

"The person who saw you called me." He swallowed, his throat dry. "Panties."

She shook her head, reached up and undid one earring, placing it carefully on the coffee table next to her plate. "Why?"

"Because I'm the one who hired him to keep an eye on you." Logan spoke without a thought. Veronica drew back from him.

"Well, that's disturbing!" she said. Before he could stop her, she reached to the floor, grabbed his shirt and pulled it over herself.

"Fuuuuck." he said, throwing his head back in frustration. "I _knew _this was a bad idea!"

"No, no, I'm...I'm not mad. I'm just really confused. Why? Why did you have someone watching me?"

"You know why! We've already had this fight." He didn't dare ask for his shirt back.

"When?"

"Last fall." He allowed himself to relax a bit, having noticed that she hadn't put her pants back on, which he took as a sign that she wasn't planning on bolting.

"You got rid of him! And then you broke up with me anyway!" she shook her head, then looked at him. "I don't know whether to be flattered, grateful or...creeped out out that I was being watched." She jumped up and walked around the room. "Ugh! Creeped out is winning!"

"We're all being watched!" Logan said, trying to calm her down. "You said so yourself; cameras are everywhere. Elevators, intersections, parking ramps, Google earth on your phone...Think of it as eyes dedicated to your safety. I found someone who knew what he was doing. He's been keeping an eye on you for over five months and you never knew he was there." His voice was raised a little in desperation. "I wasn't spying on you; I didn't want reports on where you went or who you were with; his orders were never to bother me unless you were in _trouble._ A good day...a good week was when I forgot he was even on the payroll! Wednesday was the first time he ever contacted me, and _that's _how we were able to find you so fast." To his relief, she was visibly calming down. "Before you freak out, remember: If I hadn't hired him, we _still _wouldn't know what had happened to you. Your Dad knows all about it and he's on _my_ side."

"He would be." she said, dropping back onto the couch beside him. She tucked her knees up under his shirt and leaned on him. He put his arm around her and waited.

"I hate that you've been with so many other girls." she finally said.

"So do I." he answered. _Where in the world had that come from? _"But if you could go back in time and change one thing about my past, would that be it? All the girls I was with because I couldn't be with you? Really?"

She looked at him and shook her head. "No."

"I hate that you've been with other guys. Seeing you with Duncan was bad enough but what I'd really love to erase from my memory is that moment I got off my elevator, saw you making out with Piz and I screamed."

"You didn't scream." She elbowed him. "You smiled and walked back into the party."

"Pretty sure I screamed." He insisted.

"I was there. I would've heard it if you screamed."

"I remember screaming for like, ten minutes."

"I wanted to kill Parker." she sighed. "The day the tape was made...do you want to know why we didn't go all the way?"

"NO."

"I was trying to find out how far I had to go with him to feel the way I do just being in the same room with you. I stopped because I knew it was never gonna happen."

"Can we please never speak of it again?"

"I just wanted you to know." she rubbed her cheek on his bare chest. "If you could change one thing about my past, what would it be?"

He thought about that for a long moment and then said "Nothing."

"Nothing?" she looked up at him with a frown, thinking of all the horrible things in her past.

"I'd be afraid to." He said. "Have you ever read The Princess Bride?"

"I've _seen _it like, ten times."

"Yeah, it was a book first." He smiled.

"By...S. Morgenstern?"

"By William Goldman. He also wrote the screenplays for Marathon Man and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. He was fond of my Mom. He gave Trina an autographed copy of The Princess Bride for some birthday. It's actually about ten times funnier than the movie but there's a passage in the beginning that reminds me of you. It's about how suffering made Buttercup beautiful and that after Westley died, she became the most beautiful woman on earth. That's you."

Veronica squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip. Then she looked up at him, her eyes soft and wet and asked "You've been paying someone to keep an eye on me this whole time?"

"Yeah." He answered quietly and to his surprise, the second earring landed on the table.

"Even after you dumped me?" she asked. He nodded and she took off the shirt.

"Why?" she whispered. He looked her up and down.

"God,_ I hate underwear!" _he breathed, then shrugged and said "I like the world better with you in it. Even when I can't be with you."

She slipped off her panties and swung onto his lap again. "Why?"

"I love you."

* * *

Logan tried to talk Veronica into spending the night but she was adamant about getting home to see her Dad before morning.

"I've barely had a chance to talk to him since we got back." She said, slipping her feet back into her shoes. "And _you _are exhausted. We could both use a good night's sleep."

"He's fine. I'll sleep better if you'd stay." Logan stood in his bedroom doorway, watching her dress.

"He'll be worried."

"No, he won't; he knows you're with me."

"That's why he's worried!" she laughed.

"I don't think so." He smiled a smile that made her raise an eyebrow.

"Did you give my Dad a camel...or a herd of goats for me?" she demanded.

"No." He just laughed.

"Then he's worried." She walked over and stood in front of him. "You two...get along, don't you?"

"I like your Dad. Stay." He stepped closer to her.

"I gotta go. My work here is done; there's nothing left to do but more cuddling, anyway."

"That's the best part." He hovered over her but didn't touch her.

"Someone once told me that if cuddling was the best part, we were doing it wrong." she ran her hands over his bare chest. "Not only did we do it right, we did it very, very well."

"Whoever said that," He grabbed her hands and held them to his chest, "wasn't in love. Stay."

"He's expecting me." she sighed. "Besides, I don't want you to get sick of me."

"You always joke about it, but I'm...fine." He kissed her. "I'll walk you to your car."

"Put a shirt on. We go downstairs with you dressed like this and we might as well take out an ad in the Daily detailing what we've been up to for the past two and a half hours."

"So?" he laughed but went back into his room to find a shirt.

"My sexploits have been public enough in one lifetime, thank you very much."

"At least now you're with the right guy." He pulled a hooded sweatshirt on over his bare chest. He was now wearing flannel pajama pans and a fleece jacket with bare feet. She looked him over and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, no one will be able to crack _this_ code." she murmured.

"For crying out loud, Veronica," he pointed out, "Everyone knows what's going on. We've been making out in the elevator, remember? The cat's out of the bag about you and me. Nobody cares. Besides, it's written all over your face."

"Is it? Gross!" He laughed at that but he did walk her down to her car. No one paid any attention to them as they strolled hand in hand through the lobby and out to the parking lot. At her car, she leaned against the driver's side door and he placed his hands on the roof on either side of her and stood over her.

"Wow." she said looking up at him. "Your eyes really do adore me."

"And they're not even the body part that likes you best."

"Oh, God, I don't want to go!" she cried, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her face into his chest.

"Stay."

"No, I mean, I don't want to go to Virginia next week!" She looked up at him, stricken. "It's _twelve weeks. _That's like, _years."_

"You DO want to go. I want you to go."

"You do?"

"You have _no idea _how hot my Agent Scully fantasies are. What? Don't you think I can get a visa to Virginia?"

"You'll come see me?"

"Maybe I'll get a place out there. I can run the internet thing with Mac from anywhere. Then you could stay the whole night."

"Oh! Yes! Yes, I vote for that!" she bounced up on her toes and kissed him.

"See you tomorrow." he said.

"You coming to Wallace's party?"

"I was but...maybe I shouldn't. Parker was pretty pissed the last time I saw her."

"I'll see her and Mac in the morning. I can case the situation for you. Hmmm...I'll be pretty busy all day. You'd better be at that party. If I have to, I'll take out Parker." She drew her finger across her throat in a violent gesture.

"Don't do that." He chuckled. "You could always come by later."

"I'll call you." She opened her door. He looked her up and down and grinned. "What?"

"Your shirt is on inside out." He said. "and backwards."

She looked down, aghast, wondering how she could have missed the tag sticking out from between her collar bones. To his delight, she pulled the T-shirt off, spun it around and put it back on. "So much for being cool." was the last thing she said to him before pulling out of the parking lot.

Watching her go, he pulled out his phone and called Keith. "She should be home in about eight minutes."

He stood in the parking lot, watching until her lights were out of sight.

* * *

FRIDAY MORNING, 6:40 A.M.

Logan stood outside a small row house not too far from Veronica's, pounding on the front door. A very tousled looking Jeff Ratner finally opened it.

"Admiral!" he said, surprised. "What brings you out at the unholy crack of dawn?"

"The surf." Logan said. "Thought I'd stop by on my way to the beach. Can I come in?"

"uh...yeah." Ratner stepped aside and let Logan into his place. "You want some coffee...or something? Somehow I had the impression that you were never up and about before noon."

"When the surf's up, I'm up." Logan said. "No, thanks," he waved away the coffee. "I just came by to give you this. Good job." He handed Jeff an envelope.

"I don't..." Jeff looked in the envelope. "You pay me very well, Moneybags. I don't need this."

"I don't need it either. You proved your worth this week."

"You know," Jeff sipped his coffee and looked critically at Logan. "I've thought you were nuts for months but I guess you know what you're doing after all. Is that what you were afraid of? Am I done, now?" he waved the envelope. "Is this severance?"

"No. That's a bonus. She had no idea you were ever there." Logan turned for the door. "Keep up the good work."

"What, do you actually think something like that could happen again?"

"You don't know her very well, do you? This is life, as I know it."

"Sucks to be you."

"Not anymore."

A few moments later, Logan hopped down the front steps and headed toward the Range Rover. He felt his phone buzz and pulled it out of his pocket, expecting it to be one of the guys he usually surfed with, wondering if he were coming down. What he saw on the display made him stop dead in his tracks.

_Charlie Stone._

He stared at it, stunned.

He never saw what hit him.

* * *

Logan hadn't even glanced at the town car that had pulled up and parked behind the Range Rover. He was so surprised by the name on his caller ID that he hadn't noticed the two men who stepped around the car behind him and he hadn't flinched when one of them clapped a chloroform soaked rag over his face. he went limp as a rag doll. The two goons caught him before he hit the sidewalk and shoved his inert body into the back seat of the Lincoln. One got in beside him and the other into the front seat.

"Let's get the hell out of here." said the driver, Gory Sorokin.

"Can you just drop me back on campus?" Dominic Dasante asked. "You asked me to help you take him and I did. Can I just be-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Gory barked. "You're done when I say you're done, Dom. If you hadn't opened your stupid pie hole to that Mars bitch, we wouldn't be here but SINCE YOU DID, you will help me finish this!"

Dom's bruised face turned crimson and he stuck a finger under the edge of the cast on his arm to scratch an itch. He was afraid of Veronica but he was scared shitless of Gory. The guy had broken his arm with a hammer. _A fucking hammer._

"Fucker thinks he can embarrass me and get away with it?" Gory muttered. "Not in this life." He pulled into an alley and parked. "Give me his cell phone."

Dom handed him the phone he'd retrieved when it fell from Logan's nerveless fingers. Gory checked to see what the last few calls had been.

"Sorry Charlie, Mr. Echolls couldn't take your call." Gory muttered. "Loser hasn't had another call since yesterday, around noon. Dick Casablancas. I know him; big blond, dumber than a bag of grass clippings. Wow." he looked up at his henchmen and grinned. "Echolls here is about as popular as a fart in church. This is gonna be a piece of cake."

Then he looked in Logan's phone book. "Well, well, who do we have here?" He thought for a moment, then sent the text 'thanks for the memories, have a nice life' to Veronica. Then he turned the phone off and tossed it out the window.

* * *

MAC AND PARKER'S ROOM

"It's about time you showed up," Mac said when Veronica appeared at the door. "I was getting ready to revoke your status as Wallace's BFF."

"Shut you mouth!" Veronica said. "I came as soon as I could. My Dad made me go to the range with him this morning. Said it's time I learned to Annie Oakley."

"He made you shoot over your shoulder while looking at your target in a mirror from the back of a horse?"

"Yep! You never know we you'll get into a gun fight in a fun house."

"That sounds better than a cat fight in a hen house." Parker said as she walked in the door. "Hi, Veronica."

"Parker. Hi."

"Uh..." Mac looked from one to the other, uncomfortably. "Are you two gonna fight?"

"Relax, Mac." Parker smiled. "Have things returned to their natural state yet?" she asked Veronica.

"If you're referring to me getting dumped by Piz, then yes."

"Oh, who cares about that?" Parker rolled her eyes. "Have you made up with Logan? Please tell me I didn't dump him in vain. Not that I want to be with I guy who is in love with someone else but come on! I made the sacrifice, the least you can do is honor it by getting over _whatever."_

"Over it. Can't even remember what it was. Your sacrifice was not in vain. Thanks?"

"What a mess." Parker said, sympathetically. "Why didn't you just tell me months ago that you two weren't over each other? why the heck did I have to get dragged into it? You know, there are rules about dating your friend's exes and it turns out, they're really good rules!"

"I'm sorry, Parker!" Veronica said. "Don't blame Logan. I think he was really trying to move on. That was my fault. When he asked me if I was okay with him asking you out, it broke my heart because I thought he was over me. Turns out, he thought I was over him first. I wish I had just said 'no, you may _not_ ask Parker out'. Saved us all a lot of time and grief."

"You two really need to work on your communication skills." Parker said dryly. "OH, who am I kidding? I should have known something was up. Eventually a girl's gotta recognize the difference between 'gentlemanly behavior' and 'he's just not that into you'."

"You...you mean..?"

"Never. Didn't even try. I just thought he was giving me time, you know; first guy I've dated since the rape. That's why I was so stunned when I thought he was inviting me to move in with him. Of course, he _wasn't. _Then he asked me to go to South America with him and Dick. Why would he do that?"

"Hey, could've been worse." Veronica said. "At least you two didn't make any accidental porn."

"You know, for a really smart girl, you are seriously stupid, Veronica." Parker shook her head.

"I'm trying to be better." Veronica said, contritely.

"I told you love makes us stupid." Mac said wisely.

"Love made _you_ stupid." Veronica pointed out. "Pride is what made me stupid."

"Well, I was stupid and I wasn't even in love!" Parker chimed in. "See? That should have been a red flag right there; why the hell wasn't I in love with Logan? He's cute, smart, charming, funny and rich."

"Maybe I should be in love with Logan!" Mac said.

"Don't make me kick your ass." Veronica warned her.

"Piz is in love with Logan." Mac told Parker.

"I think on some level, I knew I was just the rebound girl." Parker sighed. Then she frowned and looked at Mac. "What?"

"I'm really, really glad you didn't fall for him, Parker." Veronica said, smacking Mac in the arm.

"Me too. Although, if had ever, even once, looked at me like he looks at you...Katie, bar the door!"

"Okay. I consider the air cleared." Mac said. "Time for party business. Parker, did you order the cake?"

"Yes! From the place that did my birthday cake. It was at least good cake, right?"

"It was yummy!" Mac said.

"Too ashey for me." Veronica made a face and stuck out her tongue.

"Of course it was." Parker said sympathetically. "Come with me to pick up this one; I promise you'll like this one."

* * *

NEPTUNE BAKERY

Veronica and Parker entered the bakery. A girl was at the counter, picking up a dozen donuts.

"No!" the girl said, petulantly. "_four _cake donuts and _eight _raised! God, it isn't brain surgery!"

It was Madison Sinclair.

Veronica caught her breath. She waited for the wave of hatred fueled by jealous rage to hit her. Then she frowned. It was Madison all right, yet Veronica felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. Nothing but an imp of mischief, dancing in her breast.

"Parker," she whispered, "follow my lead!" Parker looked around, surprised, as the girl at the counter paid for her donuts and turned to face them.

"Madison! Long time no see!" Veronica's unnaturally bubbly voice caused Parker to raise an eyebrow. "Picking up lunch?"

"Hello Veronica." Madison said. The sneer on her face and in her voice made Parker's eyebrows fly up to her hairline. "Still trying to figure out how to keep a man interested? Seen Logan recently?"

"Every inch of him." Veronica smiled. "But that advice you gave me last winter turned out to be mistaken. Logan isn't into lingerie; he actually prefers no undies at all." Parker's mouth fell open for an instant before snapping shut. She turned her brightest smile on Madison.

"Oh, God, that is SO TRUE." She laughed. "While _I _dated him, he actually forbid me from wearing any underwear at all. I might have dumped him just for that, 'cause, you know;_ the girls need their support! _But in the end, I dumped him 'cause I was _so sick_ of him talking about Veronica _all the time._ I mean, it was 'Veronica wears her hair like this' or 'Veronica looks so great in T-shirts' till I was like 'Jeez, Logan, since you're obviously so in love with her, why don't you just DATE VERONICA? I mean really, right?" She shook her head and smiled brightly at Madison, who looked stunned. Veronica's own eyes had gotten wider and wider as Parker went on.

"And...and you are..?" Madison finally managed.

"Parker Lee!" she grabbed Madison's hand and ruthlessly shook it. "Just another female body tossed on the ash heap of Logan Echoll's undying devotion to Veronica Mars."

"Parker," Veronica injected, "Madison here was Dick's girlfriend all through high school!"

"Dick _Casablancas?" _Parker squealed. "Ew!" then she went off in a peal of laughter.

"Madison!" Veronica let her eyes get huge. "Did you know that Dick is _married_?"

Madison stared at them for a moment, her face getting bright red and her eyes blinking furiously. She finally gave an inarticulate snort, pushed past them and flounced out of the bakery.

"And Madison?" Veronica called just before the door shut on her, "you might want to cut down on the carbs!"

She and Parker looked at each other as the door slammed shut.

"_That,"_ Parker snarled, " was SO MUCH FUN!"

"How come I had no idea you were so awesome?" Veronica marveled.

"You never asked." Parker shrugged. "Now, let's get us some Cake du Wallace."

to be continued...


	6. Chapter 6

A CABIN IN THE MOUNTAINS

Logan fought for consciousness. He felt strange and discombobulated. There was something oddly familiar about the feeling but his mind couldn't quite grasp it. He opened his eyes.

A wood ceiling swam into focus. He didn't recognize it. golden slats were crossed by heavy, dark beams. He stared for a moment then frowned when he realized he was looking at a large metal hook protruding from a beam. His eyes drifted away from the hook and down the walls around him. He was in a work shop. His head lolled to one side and he winced as his brain sloshed in his head. His stomach gave a sickening roll and that's when he realized his hands and feet were tied.

"Weevil?" he croaked. He closed his eyes and willed away the panic that was threatening to overpower him.

_Where am I?_

He opened his eyes again and moved his head slowly as he surveyed the room. It was well appointed, with good lighting and a large work bench over by one wall. The walls were mostly covered with peg board, which held a variety of tools. Power tools sat on a set of shelves.

_How did I get here? Why am I tied down?_

His wrists were tied down, the ropes looped through large metal staples driven into the wooden floor. He tugged but either his strength was gone or the staples were stronger than they looked. It was an effort to lift his head but he saw that his ankles were similarly restrained. He wasn't lying on the bare floor but on a large canvas tarp.

_This is bad._

He heard the door open and an unfamiliar voice said "Awake? Good. I didn't want to start without you."

Before he knew what was happening, the ropes binding his arms had been released from the staples on the floor and thrown up through the hook on the ceiling. He was hoisted to his feet. He blinked, trying to clear his vision when the person attaching the ends of the ropes to a cleat on the wall turned to face him. He recognized the battered face of the guy who had frightened Veronica in the food court.

"Oh, it's you." Logan chuffed a laugh. "Nice face."

"Think you can push me around?" Gory asked.

"Pretty sure I already did." Logan rolled his head on his shoulders.

"_Think you can humiliate me in front of all those people?"_

"That's your M.O." Logan pointed out, testing his legs. His knees were still wobbly.

"My M.O. is _beating you till you beg to die _and then granting your wish."

"No, that's your_ plan. _It won't be your M.O. until you've pulled it off, which I don't think you can."

"Oh, I'll do it."

"Heard that before." Logan tested his arms, using the ropes to lift his feet off the ground.

"Right. You're the tough guy. Big man, movie stars' son; got away with murder!" Gory said, walking close and looking him up and down. "I've got you now. Still think you're tough?"

Logan looked him in the eye. "Oh, I can kick _your_ ass with both hands tied."

"I'm gonna enjoy making you scream." Gory got right up in Logan's face.

So Logan head butted him in the nose.

The crunching sound was even more satisfying than the gobbets of blood that spurted down Gory's face. Logan's laugh quickly turned to a grunt of pain as Gory screamed and slammed his fists, one after the other into Logan's solar plexus. Logan felt the wind rush out of him as his knees buckled, leaving him hanging from the ceiling by his arms. Gory turned away and strode to the sink on the far side of the room. He found a towel and held it to his nose. He staunched the bleeding while Logan swung from the ceiling, gasping for breath.

"Pretty...stupid." Logan finally managed to say, getting his feet beneath him.

"WHAT?!" Gory demanded from the far side of the room.

"Beating me to death...couple days after...so many people heard you threaten me..."

"Oh, I'm not gonna beat you to death." Gory walked back over but was careful not to get too close. "I'm gonna beat you for _fun. _The guys are coming back for us on Sunday. Then we're going home. You're not gonna die here at my place; that could come back to haunt me. No; pathetic loser, Logan Echolls, sone of the great Academy Award winner, will be found dead of an overdose in the crappiest motel in Neptune, where he went to pull a John Belushi. See, I don't want you to just die and I sure don't want you to disappear."

He stepped in and hit Logan again. "I want you to die choking on your own vomit, right in the town where everyone thinks you're such hot shit. I want them to talk about you the way they talk about the other trust fund failures, like Anna Nicole's kid."

"That's not...gonna work." Logan groaned. "An overdose won't explain the bruises."

"I'm not worried about that." Gory said smugly. "By the time they find you, the bruises won't matter. I'm not gonna break any bones," He slugged Logan in the kidneys. "I'm not gonna knock out any teeth. I'm not gonna draw any blood at all. That's the beauty of the plan! The room will be paid for in cash, for two weeks. I'ts the smell that will bring the sheriff." He jabbed Logan in the ribs.

"You seriously think..." Logan gasped, his eyes watering in pain, "..._no one will find me?"_

"No one will be looking. You were easy to research, asshole. School's out so you have no classes. Rumor has it, you're going to South America for the summer. No one's gonna be surprised that you're not around. You have no family, no job, your room mate recently moved out and your girl friend just dumped you." Grabbign Logan by the hair, he leaned in and whispered "No one will even miss you."

"Dude." Logan rasped. "Now you're just being mean."

WALLACE AND PIZ'S ROOM

"We have achieved; _CAKE!"_ Veronica said, holding the door for Parker, who carefully entered, carrying the large box.

"You got me a cake?" Wallace lit up. "Let's see!"

"Nooo." Parker shook her head. "The box stays taped shut until your guests arrive. God only knows what'll happen to it if we let you peek."

Veronica looked around the room. Several sheets of lined notebook paper were taped to the wall, each bearing a scribbled letter: B-O-N-V-O-Y-A-G-E. "What is this, Canada?" she asked. "These are some pretty lame ass decorations."

"Oh sure, blame Canada." Piz said, coming through the door. "I like 'em. They're to the point but not overly sentimental."

"Ah..." Veronica nodded. "Nothing screams 'effeminate sentimentality' like balloons and colored letters."

"They got a cake!" Wallace told Piz.

"Great! I'm starving!" Piz headed for the box, only to be blocked by Parker.

"Don't even think about it!" She warned. Piz tried to get around her but Parker was playing serious defense for the cake when there was another knock on the door and Apollo entered.

"Veronica!" he said, smiling. "I had hoped to see you before it got too busy here."

"Hey, Apollo! I didn't know you were still in town." She said. "When's your date with Oprah?"

"I leave on Monday. The closer it gets, the more nervous I am."

"Really? All the things you've been through, a TV interview makes you nervous?"

"Well, it's _Oprah."_

"Good point." She conceded. Piz and Parker were now wrestling over the cake box. "What did you want to see me about?"

"I just wanted-" he dodged as Piz and Parker knocked into him, Parker squealing with laughter and Piz demanding cake. Veronica took Apollo's elbow and they went out into the hall.

"I wanted to thank you once again for what you've done for me." Apollo said. "After all these years thinking I was alone, to suddenly find my father; to have a part of me, my family...it's a greater gift than you'll ever know."

"Apollo, I didn't...Kizza found you. All I did was help you find the proof."

"No, you did more than that. You convinced me to see him. You and Olympia gave me the courage to hope. I can never thank you enough that. But I can give you this." He reached into his back pack and pulled out a copy of his book. "My father and I have both thanked you inside." He opened it to the fly leaf and she saw that they had each written notes to her there.

"Oh, Apollo!" she cried. "Thank you! I didn't...Thank you."

"My case may not seem like the biggest or the most important that you've solved but believe me, Veronica; none ever had a greater impact on the lives of those involved." He smiled, happily. "Now, I'm meeting my father but I will be back later for the Bon Voyage party. Save me a piece of cake?"

Apollo left then and Veronica went back into the room. Wallace sat on his bed, eating a ragged chunk of cake with his fingers. Piz and Parker were lying on Piz's bed, making out.

"This is damn good cake." Wallace said. "But we're gonna need some plates and forks."

"WHAT?" Veronica pointed toward Piz's end of the room. Wallace looked at the couple dispassionately.

"Yeah." he said. "All of Logan's problems solved in one fell swoop."

"Do you think this means its safe for him to come this evening?"

"It was always safe. Logan knows he's welcome here." Wallace finished the cake and licked the frosting off his fingers.

"He does?" Veronica frowned. "Since when?"

"You know, V; sometimes you get so caught up in your own shit you don't notice anything else. Logan and I have been friends for awhile. He's okay once you get past all the...I don't even know what it is. The armor?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "That's a pretty good word for it. I'm glad. I want my BFFs to get along."

"Let's get out of here." Wallace said, glancing at Parker and Piz. "Those two are making me real nervous."

"Are we sure there aren't any more cameras in here?" Veronica asked, heading for the door. "Parker really doesn't need any more sexual humiliation."

"Piz would be a god, though." Wallace commented. Seeing the horrified glare on Veronica's face, he quickly amended "You _know _I'm kidding!"

They went out into the hall. Veronica turned toward Mac's room and Wallace toward the cafeteria, saying he was going to find plates and forks. Veronica pulled out her phone to call Logan and saw that she'd recieved a text from him.

She hit 'read' and stopped in her tracks.

"_'Thanks for the memories, have a nice life'?"_

Veronica read the text, frowning. Her lip curled and she said "Dick."

She punched into her address book with great deliberation and waited, smoldering, for him to pick up but got his voice mail instead. "Yuk it up, Casablancas," she growled. "Your laughing days are numbered. I know you sent that text on Logan's phone; there's only one place he'd be at seven in the morning." She hung up on Dick and called Logan. Getting no service, she put the phone away and set off to the Pi Sig house to have it out with a certain dumb blond.

At the fraternity house, Dick was pacing the front porch and leaving his own voice mail. "Come on, Baby! At least talk to me. I wanna see you again. Just because we got married without thinking it over doesn't mean we should get divorced that way. Did you ever think that maybe we were right the first time? Jeez, Melinda, you're still the hottest chick I've ever known, toes and all. Call me." With a sigh, he hung up. Noticing that he'd gotten a message, he listened to his voice mail as Chip Diller walked out onto the porch and stood beside him, surveying the street. Hearing Veronica's cryptic message, Dick turned white.

"Dude," He asked Chip, "Did you mess with Logan's phone this morning?"

"Why would I do that?" Chip asked absently, watching a pair of coeds stroll by.

"I don't know but Ronnie thinks it was me and I wasn't even there. Now she's coming here to number my laugh track."

"Who cares what that little skank has to say?" Chip was trying to catch the eye of the girls on the walk and didn't notice that Dick's shoulders sagged and he turned his face briefly heavenward. Then Dick turned and slugged Chip in the gut as hard as he could.

The coeds looked up in time to see Chip crumple with a deep 'oooof!' to the porch floor.

"Sorry, Dude." Dick said. "Frat bros and all? But if I let you say stuff like that about Ronnie, Logan will be pissed and he's a lot scarier than you are."

"I didn't touch his phone," Chip wheezed, red faced. "He never showed."

"Well, she's on her way. I gotta get out of here." Dick said, jumping down off the porch. Chip got to his feet, realized what Dick had just said, and followed him off the porch and down the side walk.

THE MOUNTAIN CABIN

Logan stood on the tarp, his ankles tied together and his arms pulled up toward the ceiling, where his binding held firm. He was sweating heavily from the exertion of taking Gory's beating, struggling to loosen his bonds and testing his limited range of motion. He stood with his knees slightly bent, waiting for the next onslaught. Gory moved in to hit him in the ribs and Logan straightened his knees, bent one arm and clocked Gory in the ear with an elbow.

Howling, Gory fell away for an instant, then lunged at Logan, swinging for his face and torso. Logan ignored the hits, dropped to the length of his arms and kneed Gory in the shin, knocking him to the floor, where Logan spat on him.

"What a loser," he said, raggedly. "Weevil brought six guys to help him but they didn't have to tie me down the kick my ass and they're just a bunch of low life bikers."

"SHUT UP!" Gory hopped to his feet, red faced.

"YOU'RE PATHETIC!" Logan yelled back. "YOU SHOULD STICK TO ELECTRONIC PEEPING!"

"_You're lucky I'm disciplined!" _Gory hissed, moving out of arms reach. "I'd kill you _right_ here,_ right_ now."

"Oh, yeah," Logan said, sarcastically. "Your brilliant plan. Dude, what are you gonna do with my car?"

"WHAT?" Gory shook his head in disbelief. "What about your fucking car?"

"WHERE IS IT, DIPSHIT?" Logan yelled. "You've got this GREAT PLAN about how I O.D. at the Camelot! Do you expect the sheriff to believe I WALKED THERE?"

Gory glared at him for a moment. "We'll get your car there." he finally said.

"HOW?" Logan demanded.

"I've got your keys." Gory smirked.

"KEYless entry."

"I'll beat the code out of you."

"HOW'S THAT WORKING SO FAR?" Logan screamed at him.

"We'll brak the damn window." Gory shrugged.

"ONSTAR! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU ARE SUCH A FUCKING _IDIOT!"_

Gory's face turned as purple as his nose. He jabbed a finger at Logan's face and growled "I'll show you who's an idiot."

"You've been doing that _ALL DAY!" _Logan said, straining toward his captor. Gory instinctively jerked back, which made Logan smirk.

"All I know is you're here, aren't you?" Gory said, defensively. "I GOT YOU!"

"Yeah, you got me." Logan conceded wearily. "What the _fuck_ you're gonna do with me is _anybody's guess!_"

Gory glared furiously for a moment, then turned and walked out of the work shop.

"Hey, I know!" Logan yelled after him, "WHY DON'T YOU HAVE MY CAR TOWED?" When he was gone, Logan sagged, letting himself relax as much as he could, tied in place.

A few minutes later, Gory returned. When Logan saw what he carried, he started to laugh, albeit a little hysterically.

"A belt? Are you fuckin' kidding me?"

WALLACE AND PIZ'S ROOM

Wallace walked up the hall to his room, carrying a box of plastic forks and a package of small paper plates. He tried the knob and was surprised to find the door locked. He frowned and banged on the door. He heard a giggle from inside.

"Piz, what's going on? Let me in." he called but got no answer. Sighing, he dropped to the floor and sat with his back to the wall.

A pizza delivery boy walked up the hall, looked at him disinterestedly and knocked on the door.

Wallace jumped to his feet as the door opened and money was thrown out. An arm took the pizza and tried to slam the door shut but Wallace was too quick. He got a foot in the door as the pizza boy turned away.

"Oh, no!" he said. "Out, you two! Get the heck out of my room! And gimme a piece of that."

A half an hour later, Veronica found Wallace, eating pizza in his room with a handful of basketball players.

"Has the party started already?" she asked.

"Might as well," Mason said. "We got cake!"

"Don't touch my cake!" Wallace warned.

"Looks like a cat got it." Said one of the other guys. "Big hunk ripped off."

"Nothing wrong with it." Wallace insisted. "Just leave it alone."

"I just wasted an hour at the Pi Sig house." Veronica said. "Was there supposed to be a party at the beach today? I can't find any of the surfers."

"We're not exactly tied into that community." said Mason. "But an impromptu shindig on the sand at the end of the semester is not exactly unheard of."

Veronica nodded at him but the look she gave Wallace was so fraught with meaning, he put down his pizza and asked the guys to give them the room for a minute. Once they'd closed the door, he looked at her.

"What's up?" he asked. "and do I really need to know?"

"I'm trying _hard _not to fall back into my old, suspicious psycho crazy bitch ways," she said, "but I haven't been able to find Dick, Logan's phone is apparently turned off and I don't know where anyone is. Should I go to the Neptune Grand and find him?"

"Why do you need to find Dick? Didn't you tell Logan you'd be here all day?"

"Dick is in severe need of a beat down."

"SNAFU." Wallace shrugged. "Situation Normal..."

"All Fudged Up." Veronica finished. "I guess. So you think I should just quit obsessing?"

"Yeah, but I've thought that for years."

"You don't happen to _have _any fudge around here, do you?" she asked. "because I think that would help a lot in the calming down department."

"No," Wallace said reluctantly, "but I have cake."

MAC AND PARKER'S ROOM

Mac walked up the hall to her room, only to find the door locked. She banged on it.

"Parker? I don't have my key. Let me in!"

No response.

She frowned and put her ear to the door. She thought she could hear giggling coming from inside.

A pizza delivery boy walked up the hall, stopped at her door and knocked.

"Hoo boy." Mac sighed.

to be continued...


	7. Chapter 7

HEARST CAMPUS

Dick and Chip were wandering around campus trying to avoid Veronica when Dick's cell phone rang. Seeing the display, he answered and said "Hey, Baby! I've been hoping you'd-what?" Dick stopped walking and stood, ramrod straight, listening. "No. Look, calm down, I'm sure it's just...Okay, hang on, I'll call you back." He hung up his phone and looked at Chip. "We gotta find Veronica."

"NO."

"Yeah." Dick nodded. "This is important." He set off for Wallace's dorm room.

WALLACE AND PIZ'S DORM ROOM

The party wasn't actually supposed to start for another hour but many of Wallace's friends and class mates were already there, including Sully from next door and his girl friend, Meryl, who was back in town to help him pack up for the summer.

Meryl was telling Apollo how Veronica had helped her the day Sully disappeared.

Veronica was pretending to listen to the funny stories Mason was telling on Wallace when Mac and Max showed up. None fo the ball players noticed when she left them to accost Mac.

"Where's Parker?" she asked.

"I think she's enjoying Space Mountain." Mac giggled. Veronica's mouth fell open.

"Pizneyland?" she laughed, as Mac nodded.

Mac opened the box from the bakery and looked inside. "What was this?" she asked.

"Um...that _was _a really beautiful cake." Veronica answered.

"Did we pay for this?" Mac looked at her.

"The basketball team was hungry." Veronica indicated the young men now talking to Max, who knew several of them quite well.

"You've got frosting on your chin." Mac said coldly.

"Yeah." Veronica wiped vigorously at her chin. "It was delicious. Thanks."

Just then, Dick strode through the door, scanned the room and made a bee line for Veronica.

"Mr. Casablancas!" she said, a dangerous glint in her eye, "I've been looking for you!"

"Whatever," he said. "Something's wrong. I just got a call from Heather and she-"

"Heather?" Veronica interrupted.

"Yeah, Heather. She says Logan stood her up today. Logan _never _misses a date. 4:00 Friday, that's his Heather time."

"What?" Veronica felt her blood run cold. "Who's Heather?"

"Hang on, I'll get her." Dick pulled out his phone and punched in a number, oblivious to the fact that Veronica had gone rigid as a stone. Mac noticed.

"Hey," She said, putting a hand on Veronica's back, "Calm down, I'm sure its not what it sounds like."

"Logan and Heather got tight when I took her sister to Vegas the weekend we got hinged...they play Mario Kart online every Friday at four. Logan's a lot of things but he's not a guy who'd leave a little kid hanging."

"A little kid? How little?" Mac asked, relieved to feel the tension drain out of Veronica.

"She's like, ten-Heather! Hey, it's gonna be okay, I've got Veronica here. She's really good at finding stuff." He shoved his phone into Veronica's hand.

"Hello?" Veronica asked. "Heather?"

"Veronica?" the quivering voice on the other end of the line was definitely that of a very young girl. "NO! No, I want to talk to someone who _cares about Logan!"_

"I do care about Logan, Heather..." she shot Dick a look that said _what have you been telling this kid? _Dick just rolled his eyes.

"NO!" the little girl's wail was so loud everyone in the room could hear her. "He poured his heart out to your voice mail and you never even called him baaaack! He said you were done with hiiim! I want Diiick baaaack!"

Veronica's face crumpled and she threw the phone back at Dick, who caught it and put it to his ear, giving Veronica a look that could freeze lava.

"Heather, chill, its okay, IT'S OKAY." he said to the crying child. "Veronica's cool, she and Logan are back together. Yeah, he's really happy. Yeah, he's even more fun when he's happy than when he's _heartbroken." _Dick glared at Veronica. "Talk to her." He thrust the phone at Veronica, who looked at Mac.

"You can do it, Bond." Mac nodded.

"Heather?" Veronica spoke into the phone. "Tell me what happened..." for the next few minutes, Veronica listened as Heather explained the standing game she and Logan had been playing since mid February.

"I'll get on it right away," Veronica said when Heather was done. "I'll take care of him, don't worry."

She handed the phone to Dick. "Logan's gone. He's been missing since 7:00 this morning."

"What-?" Mac started but Veronica put up a hand, thinking.

"I know where I want to start," she said "but I'll need some help from you and Max."

"You can talk to all Logan's friends. Anyone he had classes with, anyone he might surf with, anyone who might know anything, just in case I'm wrong." she swallowed, hard. "God, I hope I'm wrong."

"Okay." Dick nodded. "I'll get the Pi Sigs on it."

Veronica explained the first part of her plan to Mac and Max. She asked them how quickly they could do it.

"Immediately." Max said. "Credit cards, student loans..."

"Social security number, credit history, insurance..." Mac added.

"A fire sale." Max grinned. "Everything must go. I can even get his name on the no-fly list."

"You can?" Mac asked. "You ROCK!"

"Good." Veronica nodded. "Wait for my call. Hopefully, he'll give me what I need and you won't have to pull the trigger."

She left then and Mac and Max pulled out the laptops they were never without. The other kids in the room were curious but Q and her consort were too focused on results to answer any questions.

It didn't take Veronica long to get where she was going: Dominic Dasante's dorm room wasn't far from Wallace's. It didn't quell her fears at all to see his reaction to having her at his door. He looked like he was going to puke.

"Hi Dom." she said. "I'll bet you weren't expecting me."

"Haven't you done enough to me?" He asked. "This is your fault!" he held up his plastered arm. "All I asked was that you not give him my name but you just couldn't help yourself, could you?"

"Gory did that? He's crazy, isn't he?"

"Craziest son of a bitch I ever want to know."

"And now he's got Logan." She said, walking into the room.

"That's your fault, too!" he said, backing away from her. "You should have warned him!"

"I did warn him. Logan's a little crazy, too." _Thank God. He's gonna need all the crazy he can muster._

_"_What did you think was gonna happen after that debacle in the food court? I'm not even gonna tell you what he did to me after that!"

"I don't care what _he_ did to you; you should be afraid of what _I'm _gonna do if you don't tell me where he took Logan RIGHT NOW." Veronica never slowed her pace as she stalked after him.

"I'm not telling you _anything! _Don't you understand? He'll _kill me!"_

"WHAT DO YOU THINK I'M GONNA DO?" she asked as she simultaneously tazed his groin. He screamed and fell to the floor. "You are going to tell me everything I need to know," she hissed, leaning over his twitching body. "Last time you didn't do what I asked, I cancelled your credit cards. That was inconvenient for you. This time, I'm gonna cause some actual _problems _for you; not only your cards but your credit itself will be gone, now and forever. Your loan money will be cancelled, your existing transcripts will disappear, along with your driver's license, your health insurance and your social security. You will not only cease to exist, Dom, it will be as if you never were. And your ability to re-establish yourself in this world will be seriously diminished. If you show up anywhere at all, it'll be on the national register of sex offenders. And that's if I don't decide to have you deported to Somalia, DOM!"

"I don't believe you." He whimpered.

"You didn't believe me LAST TIME." She screamed. He just shook his head and cried. She pulled out her phone and dialed Mac. "You have ten seconds." she told him.

"no."

Veronica stomped her foot in frustrated rage, put her phone to her mouth and screamed "TAKE IT ALL."

Back in Wallace's room, Mac hesitated for just a moment, then hit a few keys, looking scared. Max just smiled and hit 'send'. Then they looked at each other.

"What is going on?" demanded Wallace.

"I'm a criminal now." Mac said.

"I have _always _wanted to do that!" Max said, looking very pleased. "Was that as good for you as it was for me?"

"Logan's missing." Mac told Wallace. "V asked us to help. I don't think things are going the way she hoped." Then she told Wallace and everyone else what little she knew.

After calling Mac to drop the hammer on Dasante, Veronica called Dick. "New directive," she said when he picked up. "I need you to find everyone who knows anything about Gory Sorokin. I'll have Mac get his transcripts, find out what classes he took from what professors, who was in class with him etc. You and the Pi Sigs get that info from her and find anyone still on campus who might know anything about a _cabin _that belongs to him or his family."

Then she called Mac, explained what she needed and to get the info to Dick and his fraternity brothers. When she had set that investigative avenue in motion, she stopped and looked around. What next?

"Dad." she said, and headed for her car.

* * *

Leaving Veronica safely ensconced at Wallace's party, Jeff Ratner had taken the opportunity to head home and change into his Neptune Grand uniform for his next shift at the hotel. He came back down his front steps in his gold vest and glanced up and down his road. Something out of place caught his eye. He walked a few cars down to inspect the black Range Rover parked there. He peered in the cargo area in back and saw a surf board and wet suit. He pulled out his phone.

KEITH MARS'S OFFICE

Veronica ran up the stairs and into her Dad's office. He was just hanging up the phone and looked up when she came to a halt inside his door.

"Logan's missing!" she said. "I'm pretty sure Gory Sorokin's got him. I've got people canvassing campus looking for anyone with information on Gory but so far, no one's talking. I've called Weevil and asked him to meet me here."

"Logan's car was just spotted on 3rd and Water Street." Keith said. "It's been there all day."

"He was on his way to the beach but never made it. Gory got to him, somehow." she filled Keith in on what little she knew, including the existence of a mountain cabin that had been used in the past to dispose of bodies.

"Yo, V!" Weevil called from the outer office. "What's so important you gotta interrupt my Friday evening?" He strolled into the office and nodded to Kieth. "Sheriff."

"Dad, will you find any and all vehicles Gory may have access to?" Veronica asked. He turned to his computer as she took Weevil by the arm and lead him back into the reception area.

"Logan's missing." she said.

"So? That could be considered a good thing."

"I have reason to believe that he's been abducted by a Hearst student with ties to the Russian mob."

"This wouldn't happen to be the Ruskie that he mopped up the food court floor with the other day, would it?"

"You know about that?"

"Who do you think had to clean that mess up? Ketchup and mustard are one thing, V but blood isn't in my job description. I'll tell you what: I'm sick and tired of picking up after that punk. Best day's work you ever did was kickin' him to the curb."

"SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO ME." Veronica's sudden outburst rocked Weevil back on his heels.

"Whoa, what's wrong with you?" he demanded.

"I need your help to find him _now._ I need you to contact Arturo and find out if the PCHers have seen any of the cars he could be in."

"The fuck makes you think I want to find him? I hate that guy. I've always hated him." Weevil snarled.

"I'm not interested in going over your checkered history with Logan; I just need you to help me now. Forget Logan; _help me!"_

"Oh, don't tell me you're back with that sack of shit!"

"DON'T CALL HIM THAT."

"God damn it, Veronica! I thought you were supposed to be smart? He do that to you?" Weevil indicated the bruise on her chin where Liam had slugged her.

"NO!"

"Right. You know what? Forget it. No way am I helping you find him. For your own good, I hope we never see his sorry ass again."

"If you won't help me, Gory will _kill him."_

"What I shoulda done two years ago. Saved us all some time." Weevil shrugged and Veronica hit him. She hit him right in the face with a closed fist, thrown from the hip and it snapped his head back. She would've hit him again but he grabbed her arms and glared at her, furious.

"WHAT THE HELL? I've seen you mad before V but I ain't never seen you_ crazy!_"

"You _know _he didn't kill Felix just like you _know _he never hit Lilly! He has never, _ever _raised a hand to me! You hate him because Lilly loved him and _not you! _I was her best friend and she never _mentioned _you to me and believe me, Weevil: _girls talk! _I know she transferred out of class to get _away _from you. You hate Logan because he has everything you ever wanted and he IS everything you could NEVER BE." she snarled, getting right into Weevil's face, "You're despicable and if you won't help me...if you EVER say one more bad word about him to me, then you are DEAD TO ME. Do you understand? I don't _know _you; I don't _talk _to you; I don't even _see _you."

"Jesus. V. Calm down." Weevil's voice was soft, as though he were speaking to his seven year old niece.

"If you really knew anything about him at all," she raged, oblivious to the tears coursing down her cheeks, "You'd thank your lucky stars you're _not_ him! In fact, you should just thank your lucky stars, period."

"I have no idea what you're talking about but look, I'll help. If it's that important to you-"

"HE'S that important to me!"

"I'll help. Don't hit me again, the next one might hurt. What do you need from me?" Weevil let go of her arms.

"A black Lincoln town car." said Keith, emerging from his office. "Gory's own vehicle, a trans am, is parked on campus. The Lincoln is usually driven by his cousin Sergei but occasionally Gory's been known to take it."

"Talk to Arturo." Veronica said, wiping her eyes. "Find out if they know anything about that car." Then she walked into her Dad's office and closed the door.

"Find that car." Keith said to Weevil. "and I'll give you another shot at being a P.I."

"Really?" Weevil raised an eyebrow. "Consider it found."

WALLACE AND PIZ'S ROOM

"Can't Veronica track Logan's cell phone, the way she found Sully for Meryl?" Apollo asked Wallace.

"I have no idea." Wallace said, turning to Mac. "How about it? Cell phone magic?"

"That only works if the phone is turned on." Mac said. "V is pretty sure Logan's isn't; she hasn't been able to get ahold of him all day."

"That's too bad," Meryl said. "It worked really well when we were looking for Sully. Like playing a video game."

"Really?" Apollo asked. "How does it work?"

"I'll show you mine," Mac reached into her bag and pulled her tracker out. She showed it to Meryl and Apollo and explained that at the moment, hers was attached to Veronica's cell. "See? By following the blinking dot, we can see that V is...at her Dad's office! Pretty cool, huh?"

"That's fascinating!" Apollo said, taking it in his hand and inspecting it. "Technology is a wonderful thing!"

"Mac, did you get the info Veronica wanted Dick to have?" Max called from the other end of the room where he was on his laptop. "I got the list of faculty, did you get the class rosters?"

"Yes, I got them. I called Dick a minute ago." Mac went over to Max to double check the information they were forwarding to the Pi Sigs.

"I'm glad V is with her dad," Wallace said, indicating the dot blinking on the tracker. "He's even better at finding people than she is."

"That's good to know." Apollo said. "Who is this person she has lost?"

"Oh," Wallace blew out his cheeks. "You got a week?"

KEITH MARS'S OFFICE

Having sent Weevil on his way, Keith entered his office to find Veronica pacing and fidgeting.

"Veronica," he began.

"Don't tell me to calm down, Dad." she said. "This is about as calm as I'm gonna be able to get right now. It's after 5:00. Logan's been gone since you and I were at the range." She looked at her Dad, her face terrified. "_It may already be too late!"_

_"_If we're going to be effective, we can't think that way. Weevil's worried about you."

"Weevil," she snorted dismissively. "Believe me, Dad; I have not BEGUN to get my crazy on."

"Have you heard from anyone on campus yet?" Keith needed to direct her thoughts into more productive channels.

"No, not yet." She suddenly went still. "I have one more card to play."

THE HOME OF JAKE KANE

Veronica quietly followed Clarence Weidman into Jake Kane's inner sanctum but the second Weidman closed the door behind her, she went on the attack.

"You lied to me." She stated flatly.

"What?" Jake looked extremely irritated behind his enormous desk. "I did not."

"I should have known better than to trust you! You promised you'd help Logan and now _he's gone. _He could be dead and _you didn't lift a finger to help him!"_

_"_Logan's gone? What do you mean, 'gone'?"

"You're as bad as my mother! I bet on her too but at least all I lost then was NINETY THOUSAND DOLLARS!"

"What?" Jake stood. "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"

"You told me you would talk to Gory; make him forget about retaliating against Logan. I gave you that CD and you promised you'd help! _What do you think Lilly would say if she knew you'd turned your back on him? He wa Duncan's BEST FRIEND!"_

"I didn't turn my back on him! Veronica, I spoke too Gory!"

_Flashback_

_Gory walked into Mr. Kane's office. Jake motioned for him to have a seat and he dropped comfortably into one of the chairs in front of Jake's desk._

_"I heard you had a bit of trouble on campus the other day," Jake said, privately horrified by the bruising and disfigurment of the young man's face._

_Gory frowned but Jake couldn't really tell because of the swelling around his eyes. "It was nothing, Mr. Kane. Don't worry about it."_

_"Nothing? It was nothing? Clearly it was something, Gory. People said you made a threat. Things like that get you noticed. You know, here at the Castle, that's not the kind of notice we encourage or appreciate."_

_"Of course not."_

_"Part of our program here is to inculcate the behavior necessary to develop future leaders, in business, culture and politics. You must understand the importance of staying below the radar until such a time as public notice can work to your advantage. Do you understand?"_

_"I think I do."_

_"Logan Echolls is a friend of my family. taking action against him could have far reaching ramifications we would rather not have to deal with. W__hatever differences you two may_ have,_ you need to leave it be."_

_"If I may ask, sir; was he invited to join the Castle?"_

_"We only choose those with the most...shall we say, potential? We believe you can go very far, Gory. Logan's temperament...limits him. Take that as your solace."_

_"Very good, sir!" Gory grinned, the effect of which on his battered face made Jake wince._

_"You take it easy," Jake said, standing and offering a hand. "And remember; the backing of the Castle is not something you want to jeopardize."_

_Gory shook his hand._

_End Flashback._

"Are you sure Gory took Logan?" Jake asked her.

"Oh, yeah!" she thought of Dominic Dasante.

"He lied to me." Jake said softly. "_He lied to me._"

"That guy is _insane." _Veronica said. "His friends are terrified of him and so am I. You're going to help me find him. Did you think I only made one copy of that hard drive? I can still bring this pile of rocks down right on your head. All of your heads."

"That won't be necessary!" Jake snapped. "I meant what I said. Give me a minute to make some calls and I'll see what I can do."

"We don't _have a minute!"_

_"_Then you'd better let me get started!"

Veronica reluctantly left him alone in his office and joined her father, waiting nervously in the anteroom.

Inside, Jake was already on the phone, waiting impatiently for it to pick up. Getting voice mail, he swore under his breath. He thought for just a moment and made another call. This time, someone picked up.

"Lev! Jake Kane, here. Look, I'm sorry to bother you like this but we seem to have run into a problem with your nephew, Gorya."

"That fucking boy." the voice on the other end of the line heaved a long suffering sigh. "I told you not to bother with that kid; he's been nothing but a disappointment to the family. What's he done now?"

"He's apparently committed felony abduction and in doing so has put the entire Castle at risk. He got into a fist fight at school this week and now the young man who administered the beating is missing and I believe Gory is blind it."

"That sounds like the hot headed little prick. Kidnapping? That's federal. Shit. My brother's not the brightest but his boy is a black hole of stupid."

"What makes it worse," Jake said, "is that I expressly forbid Gory from this course of action! I heard about the contretemps earlier and I told him to let it be. Under normal circumstances it would be foolish but considering who he's dealing with, its extremely reckless."

"Who are we talking about?"

"Logan Echolls."

"Fuck. The kid from the Tinsel Town Diaries?"

"The same."

"The kid who paid bums to beat the shit out of each other for fun?"

"Afraid so."

"I like that kid." Lev chuckled. "Why didn't you ask him to join?"

"About Gory, Lev?"

"God damn that Gory. He's gonna get us all killed one of these days. Taking out someone with whom everyone knows you've got a beef is dumb but when the person in question has his birthday parties covered by People Magazine, it's as stupid as trying to fuck a hornet's nest. God damn that kid. What do you need?"

* * *

Five minutes after banishing Veronica to the outer sanctum with Keith, Jake joined them with the information they needed.

"The place is in the Vallacitas Mountains, just outside of Julian." He told them. "It's about a seventy mile drive.

"Thank you, Jake!" Keith grabbed Kane's hand and pumped it. "You may have just saved his life."

"I hope so. Despite what your daughter may think, I do have Logan's best interests at heart."

"I'm sorry." Veronica said. "It never occurred to me that Gory would just disregard your orders. I'm sorry I accused you of lying."

"Well, in all fairness," Jake conceded, "It never occurred to me that Gory would do anything like this, either."

On that note, Veronica and Keith left, directions to the cabin in hand.

THE MOUNTAIN CABIN.

Logan stood relaxed, eyes closed, his chin on his chest. Only the set of his mouth and the tension in his jaw suggested that he was less than comfortable. At the moment, he was happy about two things; that it had been cool enough that morning for him to throw on a long sleeved sweater instead of a T-shirt and that he had something good to concentrate on.

He wasn't about to tell Gory that the lashes of a leather belt hurt a _lot _more on bare skin. The sweater he wore was soaked with sweat, so not as much a cushion as it could've been but it was better than nothing.

Years of training had taught him that flexing his muscles made it worse. Relaxed, the muscles gave under the lash of leather, rendering the sting slightly more bearable. He would never have guessed that this was a lesson he would someday be grateful to have learned. It took a tremendous amount of concentration to ignore the whoosh of the belt as it arced through the air before making contact. He focused all of his mind and energy on one thought.

_Veronica._

He had also developed different techniques to prevent himself from giving his tormentor the satisfaction of seeing his pain. He didn't know it but his breathing was virtually identical to the methods taught to pregnant women preparing for labor. He made no sound as the belt rose and fell across his back other than a slight nasal grunt with each blow. It never crossed his mind that to betray himself might satisfy Gory's desire to hurt him and so end the beating. As it was, his lack of response fueled Gory's rage like nothing else could have. Each fall of the belt was supposed to demonstrate his power; was supposed to reduce his enemy to a quivering mass. Instead, each stroke made him feel more impotent, incapable of touching Logan at all.

It was driving him nuts.

Finally, with a roar of frustration, he threw the belt at the wall behind Logan adn stormed out of the work shop, slamming the door behind him.

Logan didn't lift his head or open his eyes but his concentration had been broken and as his knees buckled and he sagged in his bonds and he couldn't prevent the shaking that started in his shoulders and and wracked him as tears coursed down his face.

to be continued...


	8. Chapter 8

WALLACE AND PIZ'S ROOM

Piz and Parker, looking and feeling extremely happy and relaxed, walked hand in hand into Piz's room, expecting the party to be in full swing. What they foud was an empty, eerily quiet room in which Max sat on one bed, working on his laptop and Mac sat on the other, similarly occupied.

As they stood and stared, Mac's phone buzzed.

"Where's the-" Parker started to ask but Mac put her hand up to silence her and answered her phone.

"What next?" she asked. "Uh huh. Well, that's good, isn't it? No, nothing helpful, just more stories about what a jerk gory is. Okay, I'll spread the word." She ended that call and dialed again. "Dick? Veronica found Gory's cabin, she and her Dad are on their way now. Nothing but wait for further instructions, I guess." she hung up.

"They found the cabin?" Max asked. "Where?"

"Vallacitas Mountains, ten miles North East of Julian. Why?"

"Maybe we can interfere with the power grid."

"Were you General Patton in another life?" Mac exclaimed admiringly and immediately called Veronica back.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" Piz demanded. Max glanced up at him but Mac was already back on the phone. Piz walked over to the smashed cake box and opened the lid to see nothing but crumbs and frosting smears inside. He turned to Parker and pointed at the box.

"Worst party, ever." he said, throwing up his hands.

"I'm having a blast." she smiled.

KEITH MARS'S CAR

Veronica and Kieth rode in silence. She had alerted Mac to the current state of affairs and was now lost in worry. Her phone buzzed.

"Weevil." She answered.

"Arturo says the PCHers are familiar with the Lincoln. It's untouchable. The guys who use that care make the Fitzpatricks look like boy scouts. Hell, like girl scouts. The news today is that it hasn't been seen on the PCH but it's usually seen heading out 78."

"Toward Julian."

"I guess. Is that helpful?"

"It's confirmation." She affirmed. "Thanks."

"So we're on the right track." Kieth said as she hung up her phone. She nodded but said nothing for a few moments.

"What if we're too late?" she whispered. "I might die."

"We won't be." Keith said firmly. "Don't even think like that." He looked at his daughter and the expression on her face wrung his heart. He'd seen a similar look on a different face not two days earlier.

_Flashback_

_IN THE RANGE ROVER, THURSDAY MORNING, PRE DAWN_

_Logan had spelled Keith for about an hour or so but Keith was back behind the wheel. Logan now sat in the passenger seat, staring at the black beyond the window._

_"I feel like its my duty as a father," Keith joked, just to break the silence, "to ask you what your intentions are regarding my daughter."_

_He glanced over at Logan, smiling, just as Logan looked over his shoulder at Veronica, asleep on the back seat. _Holy shit, _Keith thought, seeing the expression on the young man's face. The mask had slipped, allowing Keith to see a depth of pain, love and longing that knocked the wind out of him. _This kid doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve; he wears it all over his face.

_A memory of asking this same boy if blank tapes had made him cry flickered through his mind._

_Logan didn't say anything at first but turned and looked back out the window._

_"I thought the Kanes were the perfect family." He finally said. "Compared to mine, you know? I thought; no wonder Duncan's so cool. They had to kick me out at night just to get rid of me. I tried to make it so that the only thing I ever did at home was sleep. Duncan...I would've gotten into a LOT more trouble than I did if it weren't for him. Now, I gotta wonder if the whole Lilly thing was just because I wanted to be part of the family." He sniffed and chewed on his thumbnail for a minute._

_"Veronica was always there." He went on. "Lilly used to call her 'Sweet little Veronica'...and she was. You remember how she was? She and Duncan were perfect together. Both so shiny and good. I thought it was all perfect. I didn't know."_

_"None of us knew." Keith said quietly. "No one wanted to believe otherwise."_

_"No, I don't mean about...that." Logan shook his head. "I meant...I didn't know how it could be. I know you guys have had a rough time since all that went down...Veronica's mom leaving and everything? But...what you two have is better. Lilly and Duncan could never...You and Veronica. That's the real thing."_

_He looked over his shoulder into the back seat again. This time, Keith didn't look at him. To do so felt like an invasion of privacy._

_"My intentions are evolving." Logan continued. "Two days ago, I intended to stay out of her way while protecting her as much as I could. She never let me do that."_

_"Me neither."_

_"Now..." Logan shook his head. "She's not what you'd call 'sweet' anymore. She's tough and smart and strong and too brave for her own good but you have to go pretty deep to find 'sweet'. Still...she might be the kindest person I know. I intend to marry her."_

_"You...she..." Keith sputtered in surprise. "You're nineteen."_

_"I know." He shrugged. "I'm not gonna do it tomorrow. I know she's not there yet. She's got too much to do. She's going to Virginia soon. She'll probably join the FBI, which I think...rocks. She's really good at this stuff. And she kind of freaked out last fall when I tried to give her a key to my place."_

_"You what?"_

_"Isn't that how it supposed to work? To show someone how you feel? I thought they wanted commitment but it just scared the shit out of her. She made some crack about all the other girls. There aren't any other girls. There never were. Not that mattered. So, those are my intentions. But don't worry, I won't go too fast again. I learned my lesson."_

_END FLASHBACK_

"He'll be fine, Honey." Keith assured her. "He's pretty resourceful and he's tougher than tree bark. You know, when I asked him how he was doing the other night, after you escaped from Liam? He quoted Stonewall Jackson to me. He's a remarkable young man."

Veronica looked at her Dad, her eyes huge and shining. "Yeah." she breathed.

THE MOUNTAIN CABIN

Logan had regained his composure by the time Gory came stomping back into the work shop, glaring at his cell phone and muttering. Logan raised his head just enough to keep an eye on him. He was obviously agitated.

"Are you as bored as I am?" Logan couldn't resist asking. "Cut me down, let's play some poker. Bet I can beat your ass at that, too." Gory grabbed something off the work bench and threw it at him. He didn't have the energy to even try to avoid it and a roll of duct tape bounced off his chest. He winced but Gory wasn't paying enough attention to him to enjoy it.

"JAKE KANE IS NOT GOD!" Gory shouted, pacing back and forth in front of his captive. "He thinks he can call me to heel LIKE A LAP DOG. I am nobody's PET!"

"Sit. Play dead." Logan muttered.

"Mother fuckers think they know anything?" Gory went on, "Think they can tell me what to do? Think I'm STUPID?"

"Surely not." Logan shook his head. "Hey! You want to cut me down so I can take a nap?"

"You SHUT UP!" Gory jabbed a finger in Logan's direction. Logan lunged at him and had the satisfaction of seeing Gory flinch.

"Seriously, dude." Logan was able to summon up a smirk. "I promise not to beat the shit out of you again. Just cut me down. I've been on my feet all day."

"You're gonna be in the ground soon enough, so maybe you should just enjoy-" Gory stopped when his phone buzzed. He looked at the display and swore under his breath but he took the call.

"Uncle Lev!" he turned his back on Logan and walked toward the door. "What? No! What in the world makes you think-"

"CUT ME DOWN!" Logan screamed at the top of his lungs. "CUT ME DOWN NOW, YOU COCK SUCKER!"

Gory threw a dirty look at Logan and went out into the yard. "Aw, that's just my buddy, Dom. He's mad 'cuz I cleaned him out in poker. Yeah. We're at the cabin. Thought we'd relax after finals. Yeah. We're just having fun. Okay. Bye." He ended the call and looked angrily around the yard.

The old jeep was parked beneath a lean to on the other side of the cabin, right where it always was. Ignoring Logan, who was still yelling inside the work shop, Gory decided to go into town and get some dinner. He went into the cabin for the keys to the jeep.

Logan heard the engine start up and the vehicle drive away. He blew out a deep breath and looked up at his wrists. The skin of his forearms was raw and bloody from tugging and chaffing at the ropes all afternoon. It stung where the sweat seeped into the raw flesh but he tugged and twisted at it, trying to see if he could somehow unhook himself from the ceiling. When he was too exhausted to move his arms anymore, he let his head droop and he looked at his feet. With a sigh, he began tugging and twisting his legs to see if he could pry loose the staples that attached the rope binding his ankles to the floor. His jeans were a buffer between the ropes and his skin but eventually he could feel the ropes begin to chafe and tear at him. He worked until blood ran down his legs to the tarp.

"I cannot _believe _I can't get away from this gerbil." he muttered to himself.

WALLACE AND PIZ'S ROOM

Max was on the phone with Veronica when Mac's phone buzzed.

"What's the word, Wallace?" she asked. She listened for a moment, confused. "Gil Pardy said he tried to buy _what _from him? Okay, I'll pass it on." She hung up and looked over at Max. "What in the world would Dominic Dasante want with a box full of rats?"

KEITH MARS'S CAR

"Thanks anyway, Max." Veronica said. "It was a good idea." She put the phone away and sighed. "The cabin is too far out to be wired into the grid at Julian," she told her Dad. "They must have a generator. We'll have to find it to black it out."

"I don't know how helpful that would be in this circumstance, anyway." Keith said. "But it's good thinking. It's going to be dark by the time we get there. That should give us the advantage; Gory won't see us coming."

"You bet your ass he won't see what's coming."

INSIDE THE MOUNTAIN CABIN

As the sun dipped behind the mountains to the west, the shadows in the work shop grew long. Exhausted, Logan had given up trying to loosen the ropes that held him. His wrists and ankles burned and stung from where the skin was rubbed away and his back, legs and neck throbbed from the pounding he'd taken all afternoon. Yet, he wished Gory would come back if only to break the monotony. Taunting his captor helped keep the panic at bay.

_I'd rather O.D. at the Camelot than starve to death hanging from this __ceiling. Can boredom really kill or will it be dehydration that gets me?_

Finally, he heard the jeep return. The headlights went out and a moment later, Gory entered the work shop looking pleased with himself. Ignoring Logan, he walked over to the bench and snapped on a light. taking a small tool off the pegboard, he began working on something.

"Dude, you bring me any dinner?" Logan asked, hoping to get Gory to turn so he could see what he was up to. "The service in this place suuuuuucks."

"Don't worry," Gory answered without turning, "I'm about to make you forget all about that."

"I don't know, I'm pretty hungry..." Logan's voice died as Gory turned toward him and Logan could see that he was carrying a small paring knife. "What are you doing?" he was unable to keep the edge of panic out of his voice.

Gory didn't bother answering but strode right up to Logan and grabbed the hem of his sweat soaked sweater. Logan was far too tired to attack Gory but he did try to twitch away from him. It was a futile effort and Gory was able to tuck the knife under the hem and rip upward, splitting the front in two. Then he walked around behind Logan and did the same to the back. A few slices later and the sweater lay in shreds at Logan's feet. "Darn it." he murmured. "I liked that sweater." Gory looked at the long purple welts that covered Logan's back.

"Well, well!" He said, surveying the damage. "Aren't you the big phony; that has _got _to hurt!" Then he slapped Logan hard, with an open palm, flat on his back, causing Logan to hiss a long intake of air.

"'Of _course _hurts'," he gasped. "'The trick is_ not to mind_ that it hurts'."

Gory came around and frowned into Logan's face. "That's just stupid." he said.

"Yeah." Logan groaned. "What are you doing?"

Instead of answering him, Gory went back over to the work bench and picked up what he'd brought in with him; a long, thin switch, from which he had just peeled the bark. Brandishing it like a sword, Gory whipped it through the air, making a whistling sound as he approached Logan.

"Dude," Logan said, his blood running cold. "That's gonna leave a mark."

KEITH MARS'S CAR

"Did he say what he wanted them for?" Veronica asked Mac on the phone. "Well, as long as Gil didn't sell him any, I guess we'll never know. Dad and I have just hit Julian. We should be at the cabin within fifteen minutes. Okay, 'bye." She ended the call. "A lot of information is coming in from campus but I don't know if any of it is useful."

"We're almost there." Keith said. "I think there will be just enough light left to get close before we have to get out and walk." He looked up. The sky was still the bright blue of dusk but the shadows down below the peaks were deep and long. He looked at his daughter. Her eyes were bright to the point of glittering and her cheeks were flushed. "Are you okay, Honey?"

"I'm fine." she said, staring straight ahead. "I feel...I feel good." She actually felt like she could run up the mountain to the cabin faster than the car was traveling. The adrenaline flooding her system raised her heart rate and she felt hyper alert. "What's the plan?"

"First, we approach the cabin, find out what the situation is; how many men are we dealing with? We locate Logan and figure out how to extract him. I'd rather you hung back until such a time as I need you to either create a diversion or back me up."

"I don't have a gun."

"I do. You won't need one."

"_I should have brought one!"_

"The more people waving guns around, the greater chances of Logan or one of us getting shot." Keith warned her. "You don't need one."

"Okay." She nodded, willing herself to calm down. "Okay."

They continued the drive up into the deepening shadows of the mountains.

INSIDE THE CABIN

"Slight change of plan!" Gory said cheerfully. "It won't matter so much if I make you bleed if I can hide the wounds. I've decided to leave a few dozen rats in the room with you when you drown in your own puke. They're gonna need your dentil records to identify your body!" he giggled.

"I am Winston Smith." Logan sighed.

"I love that guy. Men in Black is a great film."

gory "Wait, so you're changing your M.O.?"

"Not so much changing as...improving."

"Bad idea, dude!" Logan shook his head, vigorously. "Really bad idea!"

"What do you know about it?" Gory demanded, waving his switch and getting closer.

"Most murderers get caught because when they improvise, they get sloppy. You've got a plan, a _really good plan!_ You oughtta stick to it."

"Shut up."

"HOW DO YOU THINK I DID IT?" Logan yelled, desperate. "I MADE UP A STORY AND I STUCK TO IT!"

"What?" That brought Gory up short. "When?"

"_When I killed Felix Toombs!" _ Logan lied. "I never would've gotten away with it if I'd improvised. The whole trick is to stick to the plan _no matter what!"_

"So you really did it?" Gory lowered the switch. "What was it like? Killing someone."

"_What?"_

_"_You stabbed him, right? On the bridge?"

"I...I don't know. It's not like I planned it. Not like this." Logan nodded at his surroundings. "It just happened. But I said what I had to say to get out of trouble and if I'd changed even one detail of my story I'd be in prison right now."

"But you killed a guy. _How does it feel?" _Gory asked, insistent.

Logan stared at him, seeing in his mind's eye Liam Fitzpatrick's head dissolve and his body drop to the ground.

"I don't feel anything." He whispered. "I'm just glad he's dead."

"Fuckin' A." Gory nodded. "You know, this is kind of a shame. In another life, you and I might have gotten along."

"'You seem a decent fellow; I hate to die'." Logan murmured.

"But it is what it is, right? And for you, Echolls, what it is? Is over. Can't have you out there plotting vengeance against me, can I?"

"What, for this? No hard feelings."

OUTSIDE

Keith and Veronica were able to get to the outer edge of the clearing before he doused the headlights and turned off the engine. It was full dark on the ground but they could see one jeep parked in front of an outbuilding just past the main cabin. The only light in the compound came from back there.

"The work shop." Veronica said softly.

"Wait here." Keith said, getting out of the car. He pulled a pair of walkie-talkies out of the back and handed one to her. "I'm going to check out the situation. When I know what we're dealing with, we'll be able to figure out our plan of attack." Then he disappeared into the darkness around the cabin.

Veronica sat in the car, staring at the light from the work shop. Her heart was pounding so hard in her ears she was surprised they couldn't hear it across the yard. Without thinking, she got out of the car. Walking toward the light, she felt as if something else had taken control of her. Silently, she crept up to the work shop and looked in the window.

What she saw inside changed her.

Logan was there, shirtless and disheveled, bound hand and foot, his arms, streaked with dried blood, yanked up toward the ceiling where the ropes that bound him were attached to a large hook. Gory stood in front of him, holding what looked like a long, thin, pointer.

The pounding in her heart settled down and the fear that had gripped her since the phone call from Heather changed into something implacably hard and very, very cold. Without taking her eyes off the tableau inside, she lowered her chin and straightened her shoulders.

She turned and ran back to the car.

INSIDE

"What, for this? No hard feelings." Logan said.

"No hard feelings?" Gory blankly repeated. Then his face twisted in rage. "NO HARD FEELINGS? You HUMILIATED me in front of my peers! Jake Kane SCOLDED me like I was a child and my Uncle Lev called to CHECK UP ON ME like I was a little girl on her FIRST DATE. And you're taking up my ENTIRE WEEKEND. _I'LL SHOW YOU HARD FEELINGS!" _He reared back and laid the switch across Logan's shoulders, splitting the bruised skin.

Logan screamed.

OUTSIDE

Veronica had just reached the car when she heard the scream. She flinched but never stopped moving. Quickly, she popped the trunk and felt around until she found the crowbar. Then she ran back toward the work shop.

Keith had reached the back of the cabin, where he was trying to see in the windows, searching for anything to give him an idea of how many men he was dealing with. He heard the scream and stiffened. Then he turned and began carefully picking his way through the dark underbrush back toward the car.

A second scream split the night air just as Veronica approached the work shop. Without a thought, she skidded to a halt in front of the jeep and smashed a headlight.

INSIDE

Gory was feeling immensely satisfied with himself. He had wasted the afternoon trying in vain to wring a response out of Logan but the switch was doing the job. He actually felt himself getting hard with each split he opened across Logan's back and the screams were simply music to his ears.

Then he heard the sound of breaking glass.

"The fuck?" he lowered the switch and looked toward the front yard.

Then Logan heard it, too. Definitely the sound of shattering glass.

"Is someone breaking _my headlights?" _Gory asked in astonishment.

Logan raised his head, his breath turning into a ragged laugh. "Oh dude. You're in trouble, now."

OUTSIDE

Hearing the second scream, Keith scrambled around the back corner of the cabin.

"Veronica," he hissed into his walkie talkie. "what's happening? _Veronica_?" He came around to the front of the cabin and looked towards the car, where Veronica was supposed to be waiting. He couldn't see that far through the dark, so he ran back there. Reaching the car, he was horrified to find Veronica gone, the trunk wide open and the walkie talkie he'd left her crackling inside. He looked around frantically for signs of her when the sound of shattering glass rang across the yard.

INSIDE

Gory stared stupidly at Logan. Then the door to the work shop banged open and Veronica walked in. Gory's head snapped around and his mouth fell open in disbelief.

"You? What the FUCK are you doing here?"

She raised the taser she held in her left hand as she walked forward and calmly said "Step away from him."

"Or what?" Gory laughed. "You actually think I'm gonna let you zap me with your little toy? Give it to me now and I won't fuck you up the ass in front of him; I'll take you into the house and we'll do it in private."

When Veronica go within a few feet of Gory, who hadn't taken his eyes off the taser, she tossed it at him. He dropped the switch and made a grab at it with both hands and so never saw the crowbar she still held in her right hand. She spun around to put every ounce of her adrenaline suffused strength behind it and cracked him straight across both knees.

Gory hit the ground screaming in agony. Veronica stepped up to him and using the metal bar like a golf club, knocked the taser out of his hand, breaking his wrist.

"YOU BITCH! CUNT! FUCKING BITCH GODDAM! SHIT!" Gory screamed and cried in blinding pain. Ignoring him, Veronica tossed the crowbar back toward the door and went to the work bench. She found the knife he's used to remove Logan's sweater and picked it up. Then she turned to Logan.

She surveyed the ropes, walked to the cleat on the wall and quickly untied it. Logan groaned as he was finally able to lower his arms after so many hours. He half sat, half fell to the floor. She ran and dropped to her knees in front of him. Only when she met his eyes did her expression finally change. Her face crumpled and her eyes filled with tears as she said "oh." She reached out and caressed his sweat and tear stained cheek.

"He was gonna feed me to rats." Logan said.

Keith came through the door, gun drawn, to see Gory writhing in pain and screaming on the floor and Veronica cutting Logan loose. He stepped over the crowbar and grimaced when he saw the unnatural angle of Gory's legs but he kept his gun on the screaming young man.

Oblivious to both Keith and the steady stream of curses and epithets coming from his erstwhile captor, Logan watched Veronica cutting away the ropes.

"How did you know?" He asked. She picked up his right hand and looked at it, shaking her head. His hands were blue from having been tied so tightly and extended over his head all afternoon. Tears streamed down her face and she kissed the raw, bloody skin of his wrists.

"How did you find me?" he asked. She hacked at the rope around his ankles.

"I...followed the sound of ultimate suffering." she shrugged.

"Aw...it wasn't that bad." Logan groaned as the blood painfully flowed back into his hands.

"Not yours." She said, looking up at him. "Mine."

Realizing that Gory, although loud and annoying, was no longer a threat to anyone, Keith put up his gun and came over to help Logan to his feet.

"Let's get out of here!" he had to raise his voice to be heard above Gory's anguish and obscenity laced howling. "We'll stop in town and send someone up for him."

Logan's legs were in better shape than his arms but he didn't mind having someone to lean on as they made their way out of the work shop.

"Don't forget your crowbar, Bat Girl." He said as they reached the door. She turned and picked it up, casting one last look at Gory. She hefted the bar in her hand as though weighing the pros and cons of bashing him one more time before leaving. If he could have seen the look on her face through the blinding pain of his broken knees, Gory would have felt real fear.

Then she turned her back on him and followed Logan and Keith out into the night.

"YOU CRAZY DAMN BITCH!" Gory screamed.

The three of them were half way across the yard when they heard the approach of a vehicle. Keith drew his gun as they were hit with the headlights of a Lincoln town car that rolled to a halt in front of them. They waited in silence as the engine turned off but the headlights remained on them. The driver's door opened and a large figure emerged.

"Who are you?" came a voice from the darkness. "What are you doing here?"

"Can I see your hands, please?" Keith demanded, leveling his weapon.

"I know you." the voice said. "You're Logan Echolls. Shit. What has my idiot nephew been up to?"

Veronica realized they could still hear Gory screaming and cursing behind them.

"Identify yourself!" Keith insisted.

"I'm Lev Sorokin. This is my property." Lev slowly walked into the light, his hands raised to shoulder height to show he was no threat.

"You called earlier." Logan croaked.

"I did. Can I assume you're the young man I heard in the back ground? I take it that fool," He nodded in the direction of the workshop, where the wailing was unabated, "didn't bring anyone else up here?"

"Nope. Just me."

"What did you do to him?" Lev was curious as to what could make Gory scream so.

"Nothin'." Logan said. "She hit him."

Lev raised his eyebrows at the tiny blond beside Logan.

"Formidable woman." He murmured. "Believe me, I could not be more sorry that this happened. Gorya is a hot head who was never taught proper manners. I'll be rectifying that oversight. You don't need to worry; he won't be returning to Hearst. I can personally guarantee that he won't bother you ever again."

"Like I said; no hard feelings." Logan answered in the sudden silence. Gory had either passed out or given up: the screaming had stopped.

"Get him home." Lev said to Keith. "I'll deal with that one." he nodded toward the work shop. Keith holstered his weapon and the three of them made their way back to the car.

Lev Sorokin stood in the yard, watching until he saw the tail lights of Keith's car disappear down the road. Then he heaved a sigh and turned toward the work shop. He wasn't looking forward to doing what was necessary with Gory. If only his brother hadn't spoiled that kid so...

"Gorya, it's Lev." He said, walking through the door. It was dark in the work shop, the light above the bench casting eerie shadow around the room. In disgust, Lev took in the blood spattered tarp on the floor and the ropes. He cursed in Russian.

Looking around the room for his nephew, he finally saw Gory, sitting on the floor, leaning against the bench. Lev winced when he saw the state of Gory's legs. He walked over to his nephew.

And stopped cold.

Gory was propped against the work bench, his throat cut from ear to ear.

OUTSIDE

In the darkness outside, Apollo Bukenya thrust his knife deep into the turf to clean it. Tucking it into the waist of his jeans, he melted into the woods behind the cabin.

To be continued...


	9. Chapter 9

Venus and Mars are Alright Tonight

IN THE MOUNTAINS

Veronica got into the back seat of the car with Logan. Keith pulled a first aid kit out of the trunk and a blanket, which he handed to Logan, who declined to put it across his bloody shoulders. Seeing the look on Veronica's face, Logan tried to smile.

"I've been in worse shape," he told her. "I'm just...really tired." He looked down at his hands, which he had tucked between his thighs. "These hurt."

She scooted across the seat toward him and took his hand. The blood flow was returning, which was painful but the color looked much better than it had. As Keith drove down the mountain, she put antibiotic ointment on Logan's wrists and bound them with gauze. Then she did the same for his ankles. He let her look at the long lacerations on his back.

"We should get you to a hospital," she said. "These may need stitches."

"No. No hospital." Logan said firmly. "I don't want any of this to end up on YouTube."

"But-"

"No." He looked at her. "Just bandage it, please."

"Logan!" she tried to argue but her dad cut her off.

"We'll get him home, Honey." Keith said. "We can find someone who'll come to the house."

"We can't find a doctor who'll make a house call in the middle of the night!"

"I can find someone." Keith said. "Don't worry."

Veronica turned back to Logan and saw that he'd fallen asleep. She reached out and touched him. He flinched, his eyes flew open in a panic but then he saw her and relaxed. Without a word, he leaned into her and was quickly out again. She eased him down until he was lying on the seat with his head pillowed in her lap.

"Oh," She suddenly remembered, "can you hand me my bag?" Keith held it over the seat and she grabbed it and fished out her phone. Holding Logan with her left arm, she dialed Mac with her right hand.

"I've got him. He's a little messed up but he's okay." Veronica reported.

"Good work, Bond!" Mac said. "How'd you leave Gory?"

"To the tender mercies of his Uncle Lev, " Veronica smiled grimly. "Who promised us that Gory would never darken our doors again."

"Oh. God. Well, good. I'll pass the word."

Veronica ended the call and dropped her phone into her bag. She ran a hand through Logan's hair, then gently pulled the blanket over him, careful not to touch his tender back.

WALLACE AND PIZ'S ROOM

Mac put her phone down, looked over at Max and said "It's over. Veronica's got Logan!"

"Oh." Max looked slightly disappointed. "That was easy."

Mac dialed Dick and gave him the good news.

"Sweet!" Dick said and she heard him yell to whoever he was with "Logan's back! Party at the Pi Sig house! You and the rest of the nerds drink for free, Macster!"

"Free drinks at the Pi Sig house." she told Max.

"I always drink free there." Max said. "Those guys owe me, big."

A little more than a half hour later, they were all at the Pi Sig house; the nerds, the surfers, the basketball team, the radio geeks, the PHAT kids and Piz and Parker. The impromptu celebration was nothing like the advertised and over hyped bacchanals that the fraternity was known for but everyone involved was relaxed, relieved and having a good time. There was no cake.

Several of the lined pieces of paper had made their way from Wallace's wall to the Pi Sig house and the letters B.O.N.V.A.G. were taped up, which Dick felt summed up his sentiments, exactly.

"I should've grabbed the 'Y' instead of the 'N' in honor of you, huh?" Dick said, elbowing Piz, who studied him for a long moment.

"You're a moron." Piz said.

"You're just jealous 'cuz Logan is my BFF and not yours." Dick shrugged.

"No. You're just a moron."

Later, Piz and Wallace were regaling Parker and several members of the basketball team with what they knew of the adventures of Logan and Veronica over the past few days.

"Oh for Heaven's sake!" Parker said "I was never cut out to date Iron Man. I just want a super cute boyfriend who doesn't run off to South America without giving me a thought. I'm perfectly happy to leave life and death heroics to others."

"Well, I did leave my fate in the hands of a spineless and semi alcoholic has been rock star, once." Pis admitted.

"My hero!" she batted her eyes at him, adoringly.

At that moment, Dick climbed up on a table and called for everyone's attention. He held up a beer cup and said "To Logan! I have no idea what he did but I'm sure it kicked ass!"

THE NEPTUNE GRAND

Keith pulled into the parking lot of the hotel just before eleven O'clock. Reggie, the head of security, met them at the service entrance with Jeff Ratner, who brought along a white and fluffy robe.

"Come on, Moneybags," He said, helping Logan get the robe over his sore shoulders. "We can't have you wandering around here looking like the star of one of your own bum fights videos."

"Do I at least look like I won?" Logan asked.

"God no." Ratner answered. "Not unless the other guy is dead."

On the way back into town, Keith had called an EMT buddy. He asked Jeff if he had arrived.

"Yep." Ratner nodded. "He's in the room, all ready to stitch up the Admiral, here."

"I don't want stitches." Logan turned back toward the door.

"Cowboy up, Echolls!" Veronica said, turning him back to the elevator. "You want to spend the rest of your life explaining why you look like you got run over by a train?"

"Is it that bad?" he asked, his eyes wide.

"It ain't pretty." she told him.

"Matches the rest of me, then." He sighed, but followed them all onto the elevator.

After ushering them onto the car, Ratner stepped back and offered to go get them dinner. "I'll have it upstairs by the time you're finished." Logan just nodded.

"Thanks." Veronica said. Once the doors closed, she looked at Logan. "I think you're wrong about him. I get the impression he definitely gives a shit about you."

"Well, then he's fired." Logan said.

"Don't fire him before we get something to eat." Keith chimed in.

An hour later, Logan was all cleaned up, stitched up and fed. After dinner, Keith hadn't even raised an eyebrow when Veronica said she was staying. He had simply kissed her on the forehead, told Logan to quit being such a pain in the ass and left.

Logan lay on the couch, his chin propped on one hand, idly channel surfing. Veronica sat down next to him. He dropped his arm, letting his head fall into her lap.

"This has been the toughest finals week, ever." He murmured, turning off the television.

"Why can't it just be like this, all the time?" she asked, running her fingers through his hair. "Why do there always have to be other people?"

"You'd get bored." he said, running his own hand up and down her shin. "Just me and room service would drive you crazy. 'Course, I think you're fun when you're crazy."

"I can't even imagine being bored with you. But I probably would want to get out of the room every week or so...I'd always come back."

"I'll try not to get into too much trouble while you're gone."

"Hey, you gotta be you."

"I'm a mess without you."

"You looked like you were doing okay."

"I was faking it. That just prolongs the agony. I never have to pretend when I'm with you."

"_Come with me." _she urged. "I've...we've missed each other enough. I don't know about you but I can't take it any more."

"Do you really want me to follow you to Virginia or are you just afraid of what I'll do back here on my own?"

"I'm not afraid of anything you'll do. Not anymore. And I really want..._everything._ I want to do this internship. I want to see what it's like at the FBI. I want to get out of Neptune and I want to have you with me, all the time. I'm selfish, I admit it."

There was a knock on the door. He lifted himself on his elbows and they looked at each other for a moment, then Veronica moved to get up. He shook his head and put a hand on her leg and said "Don't. It's after midnight. Nothing good ever happens after midnight."

"Plenty of good stuff happens after midnight." She said, bending and kissing him. Then she stood as another knock fell on the door.

"This has been a rough day." He said, sprawled face down on the couch.

"It's after midnight." She said. "That was yesterday." She went over and opened the door to see Weevil standing there.

"Hey, V. I wish I was surprised to see you here. How's your boy?"

"Says he's been worse. What are you doing here?"

"My uh...my Grandma sent me. Someone told her what was going on. I don't know...maybe Arturo. She said to give this to him." He handed her a brown paper bag. "Be careful with that. My Grandma makes the best chocolate chip cookies in the world." He shook his head. "I will never understand what it is about that guy."

"Thanks, Weevil." Veronica said. "And thanks for your help today."

"I guess you know what you're doing. You always do." Weevil looked like he wanted to say more but he just nodded and turned for the elevator. Veronica shut the door and went back to Logan. He was sitting up now, his elbows on his knees. He looked up at her, a question in his eyes. She held up the bag.

"Next month's rent." she said. "Mrs. Navarro heard you had a bad day."

LATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON

Logan lounged on a bench on the beach, his legs stretched out in front of him, looking across the sand to the water. His ankles and wrists were still pink but no longer bandaged.

"Dude!" Dick called, strolling over from the side walk in front of Amy's Ice Cream, an enormous cone in his hand. "Don't you want a cone?"

"I put my order in," Logan answered, as Heather came bouncing over to the bench.

"Here you go!" she said, handing him his double scoop: peppermint bon bon and rocky road. "This is SO MUCH FUN!"

"Where's yours?" Logan asked her.

"I'll get it, I'll get it." she skipped back across the walk to where her sister and Veronica were picking up their ice cream. Melinda handed Heather her own peppermint bon bon/rocky road mix and sashayed over to Dick with her single scoop of chocolate almond fudge. She was wearing closed toed sandals.

"I like Dick." Heather said to Veronica. "He's funny and he _gets _me. I hope Melinda stays married to him."

"They seem happy enough today." Veronica shrugged. "So do you."

"I think being happy is smarter than being sad." Heather explained. "I mean, unless you really can't help it; like Logan couldn't help it when I met him." She looked sideways at Veronica. "I had pretty much decided that when I grew up, I'd marry him, even though he'd be, like _thirty._" She shook her head, unable to comprehend such an ancient age. "But he really loves you, so this is much better."

"Thank you." Veronica laughed. "You seem to be a stellar judge of relationships."

"I'm glad you saved him." Heather said, quietly. "He's...he's..."

"Yeah. He is."

Heather grinned, happy to know that Veronica understood her and that Logan was in good hands. She skipped back over to the bench and danced around it, eating her cone. Veronica worked on her moose tracks and looked up and down the beach, expectantly.

She turned to Logan and said "Hang on, a minute; I'll be right back."

He watched her trot down the beach. About a hundred yards away, she met someone and they slowly walked back together.

"Don't worry, dude." Dick said, eyeing the tall stranger with Veronica. "I'm sure it's not what it looks like. Ronnie and I have an understanding." He slapped Logan on the back.

"Ow." Logan said, conversationally.

"Oh. Yeah. Sorry." Dick grimaced.

"Whoever he is, he's cute." Melinda said, watching Veronica approach.

"You and I should have an understanding, too." Dick said, frowning.

"What? I didn't say he was as cute as you, Baby!" Melinda smiled and licked her ice cream.

"I love being married!" Dick sighed.

"You guys are so gross." Heather shuddered.

Logan had lost all interest in his ice cream, watching Veronica come up the beach laughing, arm in arm with the tall young man. He swallowed hard as the pair came up to the bench.

"Logan Echolls," she said, with an excited smile and a dramatic pause, "I'd like you to meet Charlie Stone..."

Logan was so stunned, seeing the outstretched hand and looking into the face of his brother, that he almost missed the rest of Veronica's introduction.

"...my future brother in law."

He cut his eyes away from his brother's face and met hers, which were shining with happiness.

Logan smiled.

THE END


End file.
